G!ass_ 

Book /S4-S 

-M4- 



I 



MEMOIRS 

OF THE 

COUNCIL OF TRENT; 

PRINCIPALLY DERIVED FROM 

MANUSCRIPT AND UNPUBLISHED RECORDS, 

NAMELY, 

HISTORIES, DIARIES, LETTERS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS, 
OF THE LEADING ACTORS IN THAT ASSEMBLY. 

TVITH PLATES. 

BY THE 

Rev. JOSEPH MENDHAM, M. A. 

-> 



Caetera item omnia a sacris Canonibus, et oecumenicis Conciliis, ac prsecipue a sacro- 
sancta Tridentina Synodo tradita, definita, et declarata, indubitanter recipio atque profiteor ; 
simulque contraria omnia, atqne haereses quascumque ab Ecclesia damnatas, rejectas, et 
anatbematizatas, ego pariter damno, rejicio, et anatbematizo. 

Bulla Pii IV. super forma juramenti professionis fidei. Bulbar. Mag. In sacro- 
sancta. 1564. 



LONDON: 
JAMES DUNCAN, 37, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 

MDCCCXXXIV. 



' He,' Pallavicino, * frequently quotes the Acts of the Council ; the Vatican, it seems, is 
' furnished with plenty of them ; the Acts of Paleottus, of Mensottus, of the bishop of Sala- 
' manct, &c. how thankful would many men be to his holiness, would he bless the world 
c with the sight of these! yea, what would they not willingly give to purchase them! If 
' then they are such as will abide the test, why are they still kept under lock and key ? Is 
' it not to be suspected, that the wares are adulterate, when the merchant will not be per- 
• suaded to bring them into the light? Is the Court of Rome so self-denying, as not to pub- 
' lish those things, which make for their advantage ? May we not then conclude, that either 
1 they are such as will not endure the trial ; or in case they will, that besides what makes 
' for them, they contain those matters also, which make more against them ? ' 

The Necessity of Reformation, with respect to the Errors and Corruptions of the 
Church of Rome. The Second Part. [By Nicholas Stratford, afterwards 
Bishop of Chester.] Ed. 1686, p. 60. 



London : Printed by W. Clowes, Duke-street, Lambeth. 



TO 

GREGORY XVI. 

SOVEREIGN AND PONTIFF OF ROME, 

TO WHOM IT IS COMPETENT TO ATTEMPT THE ONLY MEANS, WHICH, IF ADOPTED, 
WOULD BE EFFECTUAL, 

OF EXONERATING HIS CHURCH 

FROM THE CONTINUED CHARGE 

OF SUPERSTITION AND IDOLATRY, OF PERFIDY, CRUELTY, AND 
ASSUMED DOMINION OVER SECULAR SOVEREIGNS, 

BY CALLING A COUNCIL, 



FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF CONDEMNING AND ABOLISHING EVERY ENORMITY 
WHICH CLASSES ITSELF UNDER THOSE OFFENSIVE HEADS ; 

THE PRESENT MEMOIRS 

OF A COUNCIL, TO WHICH, WITH OTHERS, THEY ARE PRINCIPALLY 
INDEBTED FOR THEIR ORIGIN OR ESTABLISHMENT, 

ARE NOT IRREVERENTLY ADDRESSED 

BY ONE OF THE BEST WISHERS TO HIS TEMPORAL AND 
ETERNAL WELFARE, 



THE AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



The two principal and celebrated historians of the Council 
of Trent are Fra Paolo Sarpi and Cardinal Pallavicino; 
the former a Romanist by continued communion with the 
Roman church, although essentially not far removed from 
the faith of a protestant ; the other a complete and deter- 
mined adherent, as well as advocate, of the Italian see. 
The history of the latter, written with the professed design 
of confuting and demolishing that of the former, has, in the 
judgment of the intelligent and equitable even of his own 
communion, only served to confirm the substantial accuracy 
of the work assailed by him*. That the cardinal, with 
all his good will to accomplish w T hat he had undertaken, 
and with every facility, encouragement, and advantage, 
which he enjoyed, from free and unbounded access to the 
original, although probably universally partial, documents 
in the Vatican, should yet fail in the attempt at substan- 
tiating a single charge of moment against the object of his 
hostility is surely one of the strongest and most unex- 
ceptionable testimonials in its favour, which it could well 
have received. In his cordial endeavour, therefore, to do 
the w T ork of an enemy, he has performed for his intended 
victim a better service than could readily have been afforded 
by his best friend. Its full effect has been given to this 
advantage in favour of the original historian of the last even 

* See De Tribus Historicis Cone. Trid. Auct. Caes. Aquilinio, Ant. 1662. 
See likewise the conclusion of the Preface to the viith vol. of Le Plat's 
Collectio Monumentorum Cone. Trid. 



PREFACE. 



nominally general council, by the excellent translation of 
it into French,, by the very congenial Courayer, who, by 
adopting the real correction s, and by exposing the fallacies 
and misrepresentations of the latter historian, has pressed 
an unwilling witness into the service of truth, and obliged 
him to strengthen a cause which he sought to destroy. 

There is a deficiency in both these historians, which, 
with the present and just views of historic evidence, is to be 
lamented — they both fail in a precise and satisfactory refer- 
ence to their sources or authorities. The Venetian may 
indeed, from being nearly contemporary with the facts which 
he records, be considered himself as an original. But he 
was not personally conversant with them ; and it is known, 
that he derived the chief portion of his information both 
from those who were so, and from existing documents, which, 
upon subsequent examination, have been found to attest his 
fidelity*. The Roman has indeed made a considerable 

* From Courayer's Life of Fra Paolo, prefixed to the translation of his 
history, ed. 4to, Basle, 1738, it appears, that when at Mantua, he became 
acquainted with Camillo Oliva, secretary to the cardinal of Mantua, from 
whom he might obtain abundance of suitable and authentic information ; 
besides that he had free access to the archives of Venice, which, from its 
proximity to, and intimate concern with, the council, would leave little 
of importance to be learnt elsewhere. In a letter of the historian, re- 
ferred to, of July 22d, 1608, speaking of some printed works, of which he 
had obtained a sight, and wishing to see more, he continues — ' for I have 
< written something of it,' (the council,) ' myself, more than all this, as I 
{ have made collections from other Memoirs, which I have met with in these 
' parts,' &c Brown's Translation, Letter viii, p. 28. The Memoirs are 
alluded to again in the xxxvth Letter, Oct. 13, 1609. He always writes 
cautiously, as he needed. Courayer has blamed him for not pointing out 
his sources more frequently ; but this might have been unsafe for those 
who supplied him with his information. The English reader is much in- 
debted to the Rev. B. W. Mathias for rendering the substance of Fra 
Paolo's history more accessible to him ; and likewise for making him ac- 
quainted with the entire of the canons and decrees of the council in his own 
language. The more valuable remaining portion of his work is expected 
with anxiety, 



PREFACE. 



vii 



parade of reference ; but, independently of the suspicion 
which must fairly attach to him in all cases, when his 
cause would benefit by suppression, his references, being to 
manuscript and unpublished works, if they had been in- 
tended, or calculated, to preclude hesitation, should have 
presented to the reader the identical words of the originals. 
This is the least which might reasonably be required in 
such a work as the apologetic and censorial one of the 
Italian cardinal ; for even then a reader far from captiously 
rigid might, in many cases, demur. 

It is not the object of the present more humble under- 
taking professedly either to confirm or confute, to correct or 
supersede, the above mentioned, or any other inferior histo- 
ries of the Tridentine Synod. Its object is, to throw addi- 
tional light upon a very important event in human and 
particularly ecclesiastical history, in any of the ways 
which have been stated, as the result may be, from sources, 
hitherto unpublished — sources, for the most part, still in 
manuscript ; of an authentic and important character ; the 
identical ones, indeed, I have no hesitation in believing, from 
which the papal historian drew a large proportion of his 
materials ; although with a fidelity which no one can con- 
scientiously pronounce to be placed above the reach of sus- 
picion. 

It may be justly expected that I should substantiate these 
assertions. I am in possession of a rather copious collection 
of manuscript volumes in folio, and of varied but competent 
bulk, on the subject of the Council of Trent, formerly the 
property of the Earl of Guilford, and forming a part of 
his unique and very valuable library, dispersed not many 
years ago. I purchased the collection, consisting of twenty- 
eight volumes, from Mr. Thorpe, in 1832. The greater part 
appear to have constituted a portion of some public or ex- 
tensive library, or libraries in different parts of Italy and 



viii 



PREFACE. 



Venice — the product, not improbably, of the spoliation of 
the collections of cardinals, or other opulent individuals 
interested in ecclesiastical matters, during the time in which 
the French were masters of that portion of the world. This 
conjecture is confirmed by circumstantial or internal evi- 
dence. They are probably none of them originals, but 
copies, of varying age ; and there are among them dupli- 
cates of a part or the whole of the separate volumes. 

I will describe them as satisfactorily as may be in their 
natural order. 

I. and IT. These are duplicates, and contain a general 
and complete history of the council from the first to the 
last Session. The first is entitled Diario del Concilio di 
Trento diviso in Otto Libri. The name of the author is 
not added ; but the Venetian ambassador, Niccolo da 
Ponte, is mentioned by Pallavicino, 1st. del Cone. Trid. 
xxiv, xi, 11, .as having written an account of the council. 
This, although an extended history, is evidently derived 
and partially at least abridged from a larger one. This 
is formally announced in the beginning of the second 
book, where the writer speaks of ' his author,' and in other 
places, where in particular he takes the liberty of curtailing 
the rather lengthy discussions occasionally introduced in his 
original. The only difference which I have observed be- 
tween this volume and its duplicate, and which will be 
noticed is, in the presence of a single paragraph, less than 
a page, which is absent from the latter. 

This latter has for its title Diario del Concilio di Trento 
ove si descrive quanto in esso occorse descritto in 4 libri dal 
Ambasciatore Veneto. The number written is 4; but 
there are eight regularly numbered books, as in the first 
volume. The passage here omitted is in the penultimate 
page of the other duplicate. It has relation to the cardinal 
of Lorraine ; and the final page of the present volume, in 



PREFACE, 



IX 



which it should be found, is in a hand-writing different from 
that of the rest of the volume. Courayer, speaking, in the 
Preface to his translation of the Council of Trent, p. 15, of 
this MS, of which a copy was in his hands, as he plainly 
does, and ascribing it, not to the ambassador, but to his 
secretary, represents it, not without considerable appearance 
of truth, as a simple abridgment of Fra Paolo's history. 
The coincidence is remarkable : but it may have arisen as 
well from both writers using a common original, as from the 
one copying from the other. At any rate, however, the 
present MS represents generally, and therefore confirms, 
the narrative of the published historian, and serves, in 
the present history, to maintain its course and connexion 
from a source in some respects new. With this explana- 
tion, it is superfluous to apologize for having sometimes, 
and in defect of better, in the class to which I mainly con- 
fine myself, used it as a guide. 

III. The title of the next volume is Dell' Historia del 
Sacro Concilio di Trento Scritta da Antonio Milledoni Sec rio . 
del Consiglio de X di Venetia in detto Concilio Libri Due. 
Libro Primo. The first book is occupied by a compendious 
general history of the Christian church up to the time of the 
council, with which the second begins, and, as usual, with 
an account of Luther and his performances. The history 
extends to the close of the council, but in a very abridged 
form, except in the final sessions, which are given extendedly : 
as however agreeing in substance with the preceding histo- 
ries, and with the known printed ones, it has its value in the 
way of confirmation. Its general character is very secular ; 
and the writer is a sufficient bigot on trying points. I do 
not discover any reference to this volume in Pallavicino. 

IV. The next work, Summarium Sacri Concilii Triden- 
tini Bononiensis, is a very important one. It embraces 



X 



PREFACE. 



only the first assembly of the council from 1545 to 1547, 
but the history itself extends from 1544 to 1549. There 
is no name in the title ; but at the beginning of the second 
session, (it is necessary so to indicate the place, as there are 
no numbers of pages or leaves,) from the words per me An- 
gelum Massarellum Secretarium Concilii, and from identical 
designations towards the end, it is evident to whom we are 
indebted for the work. In the last volume of Le Plat's 
valuable Collectio Monumentorum, &c. are inserted some 
fragments under the name of the Secretary, but they have 
nothing of the completeness, extent, and particularity of the 
present manuscript. This volume contains all the canons and 
decrees of the council, together with lists of the members 
present at each session, as well as detailed accounts of the 
various congregations. This, I apprehend, is the identical 
work used by Pallavicino. See 1st. xi, xi, i. I cannot quite 
satisfy myself that it is the same manuscript as is mentioned 
by Courayer, in his Preface, p. xiv. 

V. For the period, more or less, of the first assembly of 
the council, there are volumes of Letters ; the first of which 
is — Littere Conciliari scritte dalli Legati, al Car le . Farnese 
nella Apertura che si fece del Concilio a Trento nell' anno 
1545. Li Legati furono il Card 1 , de Monte che fu poi Papa 
Giulio terzo ; il Card 1 , de S ta . Croce che fu poi Papa Marcello, 
Et il Card 1 . Polo Inglese, homini sapientissimi et valorosiss 1 . 
Cardinal Farnese was grandson of Pope Paul III, and a 
complete man of business. This volume, which is peculiar 
as having the leaves numbered, is, without doubt, one of 
the collection, either in whole or in part, so constantly ap- 
pealed to by the Italian historian *. The letters extend 

* See near the beginning of the iid book of his history, writing of the 
legates — Dimandarono anco una cifra per poter communicare le cose di 



PREFACE. 



XL 



from March 13, 1545, to May 22, 1546. There is, how- 
ever, a hiatus from January 22, 1546, to March 2 of the 
same year, which is supplied by another epistolary col- 
lection, marked No. "VII. The age of this manuscript is 
pretty satisfactorily ascertained by a marginal note against 
the name Buoncompagno, in the same hand, Uora Papa 
Gregorio 13. fol. 174, verso. It was, therefore, written be- 
tween the years 1572 and 1585. The style of the writing 
accords with this age. 

VI. This volume is a duplicate of the immediately pre- 
ceding one up to January 22, 1546, fol. 193, from which 
the immediately succeeding volume starts, the first date 
being February 1, 1546. There are two additional sets of 
letters in the volume. It has no title ; but the contents are, 
Lettere — de' Card. Leg. in Concilio di Trento, 1545 to 
1546; del Card. Farnese, 1542 to 1548; di Negotii, 1548 
to 1549. The additional letters are mostly of a secular 
and uninteresting description ; but the whole collection may 
occasionally subserve useful purposes, particularly in cor- 
recting readings. 

VII. The collection which bears the title Lettere scritte 
da diversi Ministri de Prencipi dal Concilio di Trento all' 
Ill mo . S r . Cardinale Farnese, is certainly the most valuable 
of the three. Courayer appears to have had a copy lent 
him, and states somewhat of an expectation that it might 
be printed — an expectation, like many ot hers, not verified by 
the event. The date of the first letter is, as has been said 
before, February 1, 1546 ; the last is the last day of the 
same year. There is a chasm of all June to July 17. The 

maggior momento. Le quali parti colarita, insieme con molte altre che si 
diranno, havendole tratte dal registro delle lettere del cardinale del Monte, 
e servendo molto per penetrare 1' intimo delle trattationi, non ho voluto 
tacerle. The fact referred to will appear in its place. 



xii 



PREFACE. 



name of the individual writer not unfrequently appears in 
the body of the letters, although they are almost all official. 
It should be added, that many of them are addressed to 
other persons than the one named in the title, and that Far- 
nese himself is joined with the legates, when he was present 
at Trent on his return from a legation to Germany. Pal- 
lavicino has used this collection copiously in the first part of 
his history. It contains some letters not occurring in the 
preceding collections, even for the periods in which they 
coincide. 

Here terminate my manuscript documents as concerns 
the first assembly of the Tridentine synod. I am sorry that 
I cannot pursue the course into the second assembly in 
1551 and 1552 by any particular documents, and must 
therefore, as to originals, content myself with the general 
histories which have been described. This, however, is the 
less to be regretted since authority of the same kind has 
been put in possession of the British and Gallic public, by 
the publication of the valuable and evidently authentic letters 
of Vargas to the bishop Arras, on the subject of the Council 
of Trent, first by our countryman, the diligent and acute 
Dr. Michael Geddes, in his Council of Trent no free Assembly, 
1697, and shortly afterwards, 1 700, in French by Le Vassor, 
in his Lettres et Memoires de Franc, de Vargas. Both 
these writers might have detailed more clearly and expli- 
citly the circumstances of the original manuscripts, but there 
cannot be the slightest doubt of their integrity and of the 
genuineness of their alleged originals. And I must say, that 
it is a circumstance not in the highest degree favourable to 
the otherwise unimpeachable judgment and candour of the 
laborious Le Plat, that in the Preface, p. vi, to the first 
volume of his Monumenta, he should have disposed of the 
authenticity of these records so flippantly as he has done. 



PREFACE. 



xiii 



But the man who could regard the bishop of Meaux's Va- 
riations as a conclusive book might be expected at times to 
resign the sound part of his understanding. The remainder 
of our manuscript documents belongs to the final assembly 
of the council under Pius IV in the years 1562 and 1563. 

VIII. The first of these is Diario del Concilio di Trento 
sotto Pio Papa IV. The author announces himself at the 
very beginning as Jo. Astolfo Servantio of S. Severino in the 
Marca d' Ancona, and as having been present at the council 
in 1562 and 1563, where he officiated as scribe of conciliar 
affairs, and wrote for his own curiosity and amusement, 
having minutely observed every thing from day to day and 
even from hour to hour. His name appears likewise more 
correctly written at the beginning of the appended matter, 
being a short account of what happened immediately after 
the council had risen, but principally a collection of the 
documents concerned. It begins with the year 1560, called 
the first, that is, within the first year of the pontificate of Pius 
IV, and proceeds with most minute detail to the close of 
the council, including a variety of public documents essential 
to a perfect comprehension of the proceedings and spirit of the 
Tridentine fathers. This author is noticed in Pallavicino *. 

IX. The second document which I have to describe re- 
lating to the same period is the following : — Acta Concilii 
Tridentini Anno MDLXII & MDLXIII usque in finem 
Concilii Pio IV. Pont. Max. & alia multa circa diet. Con- 
cilium Fragmenta. A Gabriele Cardinale Paleotto descripta. 
This is an extended and highly valuable history, and is one 
of the principal fountains from which Pallavicino drew his 
intelligence for the corresponding period f. This author 
likewise was a party in the scenes and acts which he records. 



1st. xvi, 4. 



f 1st. xv, 13, 4. 



xiv 



PREFACE. 



X. The next which follows is—Lettere dei SS ri , Cardinali 
Legati del Concilio Trident ,, e di Monsig 1 . Visconti scritte 
a S. Carlo Borromeo Nipote di Pio IV, et al Bindoni Divise 
in in (sic) due tomi. Tomo P°. Degl' anni MDLXII e 
MDLXIII. There is, however, a third volume continuing 
Visconti' s Letters, as expressed in the general title. The 
first letter of this third volume is dated December 10, 1562, 
and the last date is September 22, 1563. In the edition 
published of this portion of the letters in the original, and 
with a French translation on the opposite page by Mr. Ay- 
mon at Amsterdam, in 1719, in two volumes, 12mo, the 
first letter does not commence before the date of February 
1, 1563, and the last is September 6, 1563. So far then 
they are not perfectly new; but as the printed edition 
is deficient, and verbal variations occur, the present MS 
loses very little of its original character and value. The 
pontifical apologist of the Council has availed himself of this 
collection, as might be expected ; but as Courayer, with great 
probability, states, from his own inspection of a copy of this 
MS, the first historian of the Council enjoyed the same 
advantage before, and made good use of it. The notes 
of the translator are enriched with proofs of this fact in the 
rather copious extracts and references which he has made *. 
It may be observed, that although the letters of the legates, 
which begin the volume, have, for the first date, Decem- 
ber 17, 1562, those of Visconti, which begin at No. 39, (for 
they are numbered,) commence with a prior date, May 
22, 1562; and it is remarkable, a great, if not the greater, 
portion of them is in cipher, at least the first ; the caution 
seems afterwards to have become unnecessary. 

XL The succeeding volume is of a miscellaneous de- 

* See Pref., p. xvi, and liv. vi, &c. passim 



PREFACE. 



XV 



scription, and not very bulky, entitled Diverse Instruttioni, 
Lettere, e Scritture appartenenti al Concilio di Trento. They 
are principally Missives from the different papal sovereigns 
in Europe who took a part in the Council. 

XII. The last document, which it will be necessary to 
describe, is of the same character, but of greater extent. 
Its title, or rather its first title, is, Varia Tractata Sacri Cone. 
Tridentini cum ejus Indice in fine. It was intended to be 
at the end, but is at the beginning, and contains, additionally 
to the first title, the titles of a vast variety of Letters, An- 
swers, Instructions, &c. The volume consists of 472 folia — 
numbered, which is unusual. In fact, the variety of matter 
could not well be indicated by an Index without. The 
pieces are in Latin, Italian, and Spanish. 

The remaining volumes are of less, although by no means 
of slight importance. The first set is a work of large di- 
mensions. It consists of six volumes of very large-sized 
paper closely written; and is a transcript of Fra Paolo's 
History of the Council in Italian, corrected by Pallavicino's 
history in very extended notes, partly the author's own, 
and perfectly hostile. The author is Giambattista Rinal- 
ducci. From a private letter attached to an early page of 
the work, it appears, that it was written about the year 
1665. This letter is a very curious one, being from the 
dictation of Pallavicino himself, and signed with his auto- 
graph. It is an answer to the author, who had put part of 
his work into his hands for the purpose of obtaining his 
judgment; and the judgment, although sheltered under 
compliment, is evidently discouraging as to the publication. 
One reason is grounded upon the illegality in the Roman 
church, that is, by the regulations of the Index, to republish 
any work, which has been condemned, as of Luther or Calvin, 
although accompanied with an answer, or antidote; and the 



xvi 



PREFACE. 



writer is evidently alarmed at the thought of his old foe 
appearing in his own and entire strength *. The general 
plan of this writer has been adopted with great success by 
Courayer; and no advantage would be derived from the 
present manuscript, except it might be in the larger extent 
of the citations from the Cardinal. 

The next and final work is Declarationes Concilii Tri- 
dentini, in eight large volumes, being the Declarations of 

* But the letter possesses sufficient interest as well as curiosity to be 
given entire in the original. It is directed Al Molt' Ill re . Sig re . Gio. Batta 
Rinalducci. The letter is as follows : — 

Molt' IIP. Sig re . 

Quando 1' altr' ieri rimandai a VS. que' fogli della sua traduzion 
francese commisi unitam te . al mio Palafreniere che la pregasse di voler esser 
meco al Giardino, disegnando io di ragionar con lei sopra la sua opera con- 
tra '1 Soave. Ma il Palafreniere non la trovo, e ben che lasciasse 1' Ambas- 
ciata non le sara stata poi fatta. Onde per non indugiar piu lungam te . a 
dirnele il mio giudicio secondo la sua intanza, debbo significarle, come per 
quella poca particella ch' io n' ho veduta, mi par lavoro pieno di molto dis- 
corse di molta ex-udizione, e che quivi tutto il mio componim to - sia come un 
flume ch' entra nel mare, e che vi perderebbe il nome s' ella non gliel' 
havesse cosi onorevolm te . serbato. Ne questo suo libro potrebbe uscir da 
Intellecto che mon fosse molto capace degli afFari del Mondo. Due difficolta 
vi scorgo ; la prima intorno ad ottener la publicaz ne - perdche essendo piu 
distesam te - rapportato tutto il Testo del Soave, il concederne V impressione 
sarebbe lo stesso, che levare al Soave la proibizione. E benche il veleno sia 
piu corretto con 1' antidoto ; non mancherebbono tuttavia palati strava- 
ganti, che vorrebbono mangiarlo sen^a 1' antidoto, 6 che per difetto del loro 
stomaco non riceverebbono da questo la conveniente preservazione. E cosi 
veggiamo che a niun controvertista e permesso di stampare al lato della sua 
opera quelle di Calvino, di Lutero, e simiglianti. La seconda difficolta ri- 
sguarda la sodisfazione comune : imperoche havendo ella voluto esaminar 
abbondantem 16 . ogni sillaba del Soave ; chiunque non e passionato nella causa 
riceve sazieta da queste minuzzerie : e per tal ragione le Apologie, e le Con- 
trapologie, quando son lunghe di mole, soglion' esser brevi di vita : man- 
cando assai presto quel fervor di curiosita, che ad un certo modo, appassiona 
tutti nella contesa : Onde poi non si curano gli huomini di spender lunga 
lezione in contrast! per lo piu tenui ed appartenenti piu tosto alia ripren- 
sione dell' Avversario in qualch' errore di sua penna, che alio scoprimento di 
qualche verita rilevante. Cio mi occorre di rappresentare a VS. con quella 
ingenuita che a me e naturale con tutti, ed a )ei e gradita in tutti. E per 
fine mi le offero di tutto cuore. Di Casa il di 19. d' Ap le - 1665. 

Al Servizio di VS. affeU 



PREFACE. 



xvii 



the Congregation instituted for the Interpretation of the 
canons and decrees of the Council of Trent. Selections 
have been published from this work ; as may be seen in the 
edition of the canons and decrees by Gallemart, in the Ad- 
monitio Lectori : he has transcribed a considerable portion 
in his edition. The whole, however, has been lately printed 
in Rome by Zamboni. In my MS the course of the ses- 
sions is gone over, three, or perhaps four, times ; and the 
latest date, for they are not in perfect chronological order, 
appears to be 1658 *. 

In the present work, although it is my intention mainly 
to give the information, which is supplied by the new and 
generally inaccessible documents above specified, I shall 
not consider myself as strictly confined to them, but shall 
freely make use of such materials, already in possession of 
the public, as may be necessary to continuity in the narra- 
tion, or which, for any justifiable reason, may be supposed 
acceptable to the reader. 

The Council of Trent occupies a page in the annals of 
the world of high importance in many respects. As a sim- 
ple exhibition of human character, particularly as assuming 
a corporate form for the time, it is interesting and instruc- 
tive to the philosopher. But in its reference to religion, or 
Christianity, which is its appropriate aspect; in its refer- 
ence further to the two great divisions, into which Christen- 
dom was severed by the progressive, overwhelming, and 
intolerable corruption of the dominant portion, a corrup- 
tion which, if any even human virtue remained on the earth, 
rendered separation an imperative duty and unavoidable, 

* See Historical Memoirs, &c. by C. Butler, Esq. i, 483, [and following 
pages, where the author gives a French gentleman's account of the Vatican 
MSS of the Council, from inspection of them when in Paris. The account 
is very unsatisfactory; and the secretary's name, Massarelli, is constantly 
misspelt Massaret. 

b 



xviii 



PREFACE. 



its interest and instruction receive a tenfold increase. Va- 
rious efforts were made by individuals,, and portions of so- 
ciety, to disengage themselves from the prevailing iniquity : 
but the most definite and decisive were those, which were 
put forth, when that iniquity had arrived at its full strength 
and confidence, in the event, which is emphatically called 
The Reformation. The irresistible progress of this holy 
resistance, as in the main it was, to the empire of heresy 
and crime, obliged the secular powers, for their own secular 
tranquillity, to endeavour to obtain a settlement of the trou- 
bles of which this secession was the occasion. For as no 
tyrant sits down patiently under the abstraction of his ill- 
gotten power, so the withdrawal of submission and contribu- 
tion from the spiritual despot of Rome, however quietly 
performed, aroused all the feelings of revenge and persecu- 
tion, in himself and his ministers ; and by aggressions com- 
menced on the part of those ministers, the public peace was 
sorely violated. The secular princes, finding themselves 
unable to compose a storm, which greatly annoyed them, 
and conscious that it was not perfectly their own province, 
looked to the spirituality, and particularly to a solemn as- 
sembly of its knowledge and virtue, in other words a gene- 
ral council of the church. This was a very natural feel- 
ing, and the best measure which could be adopted. And 
in defiance of general opinion, and of general ridicule, I 
feel no hesitation to say, that if Christian councils, whe- 
ther great or small, were composed of members of average 
sanctity and information, in a state of the church not emi- 
nently forsaken by the Holy Spirit, much good and satis- 
faction might be the result of their ultimate decisions. Such 
a council, if in any real sense free, and controlled, or guided 
by men of the description just given, might, in answer to sin- 
cere and earnest prayer, have reason to believe, and the world 



PREFACE. 



xix 



likewise, that what it decreed was the will of the Divine 
Spirit. But probably the disease had arrived at such a 
point of malignity, as to be past the season of natural remedy, 
or in just judgment denied the benefit of it. In the council 
actually, and at last, convened, not, there is too much 
reason to believe, for the establishment, but for the sub- 
version, of truth, there was so much obstinate adherence 
to error, so much horror of all that could convict or rectify 
it, so much secularity and love of vice, and so much of con- 
sequent imposition and intrigue, that if ever a body of men 
were collected, whom the Holy Spirit could not meet and 
own, it was the Council of Trent. This assembly, therefore, 
as to the ends, for which it was professedly called, was a 
perfect nullity. It was a nullity, however, as an idol is a 
nullity, yet imposing upon the worshipper the guilt of idola- 
try. The positive mischief which it was calculated to pro- 
duce would have been extreme, had it not, like some other 
noxious agents, conveyed somewhat of an antidote by the 
same channel which discharged the poison. That antidote 
was — the disgrace which it procured for the rulers of the 
system, which it strove to uphold, and which sufficiently 
deterred every conscientious individual, who escaped its 
pale, from again being inveigled into it. A nullity, indeed, 
it was as to its direct and professed object : but its tenden- 
cies were of the most baneful description. It was, indeed, 
received with difficulty and qualification, even by those 
nations which acknowledge the Roman sovereignty : but 
the exceptions were not to the doctrine conciliarly defined, 
or as presumed to be the doctrine of the Roman, then 
called the catholic, church, on distinct and anterior autho- 
rity. The doctrine, therefore, newly established at Trent, 
was the doctrine of the whole church continuing in commu- 
nion with the Roman. No consistent member of that church 

b 2 



XX 



PREFACE. 



could refuse to bow with supreme reverence to a congrega- 
tion of the rulers of his churchy regularly assembled from 
all parts of the Roman world, with the chief ruler at its 
head, presiding by his authorised proxies, cardinal legates, 
claiming the miraculous guidance of the Holy Spirit, and 
in the plenitude of that authority, publishing its canons and 
decrees to the subjects of papal Rome. 

The main compensating advantage to the friends of 
truth and religion from the Council of Trent is this. Had 
it not been for this authoritative and universally diffused 
announcement of the doctrine of the Roman church, it 
would have been a matter of some difficulty to discover, 
what the doctrine really was, by which either she would 
chuse, or might be compelled, to abide. For, amidst the 
chaos of varying, conflicting, and unsettled dogmas in 
Rome, up to the time of this her last general Council, while 
the circumstance afforded the advantage of optional selection, 
it enabled the defenders of the fortress to flee in succession 
from every post which they could not maintain, and betake 
themselves to some other, which would, at least, give em- 
ployment to their assailant, until they were again in the 
same predicament. And it would be hard if the baffled 
assailant were not at last wearied out by such reception. 
But the canons and decrees of Trent, with the riveting creed 
and oath, which issued from the authority of the Council, 
and both expressed, and was sanctioned by its enactments, 
have at length fortunately bound the Proteus, and fixed 
him to a figure which he can no longer change. We can- 
not indeed altogether subscribe to the position, that the 
Council of Trent erected, what were formerly only questions 
of the schools, into dogmas of faith*. Rome had certainly 

* Courayer, with whom probably this sentiment originated, speaks only 
of the greater part of these opinions. Pref. p. xxiv. 



PREFACE. 



not a few dogmas of faith before, founded upon the highest 
and most binding authority , her preceding councils, not to 
add the constitutions of her chief pontiffs : and while a 
Nicene council established the worship of images ; a Late- 
ran one, transubstantiation, and auricular confession ; a Flo- 
rentine, purgatory and papal supremacy ; while her litur- 
gies and offices oblige the participants in them to offer 
prayers to saints; to implore their intercessions and 
the application of their merits before God ; to deify the 
Virgin Mary by such appellations and addresses as belong 
exclusively to divinity; and to adore an equally deified 
vegetable substance under the manufactured form of the 
consecrated host, — it must be acknowledged, that matters of 
belief of no trifling number or ponderosity were hung about 
the necks of the papal population. Still there was a great 
deal remaining, which the Tridentine synod contrived to add 
to the burthen, both upon itself, and upon all who were to 
receive it. 

The procedure was not altogether voluntary ; indeed 
much the contrary. Protestantism was making its ad- 
vances with a steady and irresistible step. Its success 
was in a great degree occasioned, or at least assisted, by 
the openness with which it declared its own nature and 
pretensions ; by the authorised expositions of its doctrine ; 
by its Confessions of Faith, large, precise, subscribed. 
And these, we beg to state simply at present, were in 
the main harmonious, the principal difference being fur- 
nished by the semi-heretical tenet of consubstantiation, 
which, however, escaped the idolatry of the papal doctrine 
on the subject. Such conduct could admit but of one in- 
terpretation. If, then, those who rose against what they 
esteemed the unjust and injurious dominion of the Italian 
church, dared thus publicly, thus unequivocally, to state 



PREFACE. 



and proclaim the grounds of their separation, and the doc- 
trine which they taught, and by which they would abide, — 
how was it that the church from which they seceded, which 
presumed to treat them as rebels and heretics, and, above 
all, which claimed to be herself exclusively the pure and 
inerrable depository of orthodox belief, the oracle of Chris- 
tian doctrine, should not venture, were it but in common 
charity to the simple of her flock who might otherwise inad- 
vertently wander into poisoned pastures, to lay before the 
world of her subjects a plain, full, explicit, and authentic 
declaration of her own creed; in order that, what the 
mother and mistress of all churches believed, taught, and 
enjoined, might be seen and read of all men ? When the 
heretics could show, and were not ashamed or afraid to 
show, their faith, with minute precision, and in large detail, 
was it for the Catholic church (so calling herself) to leave it 
to be suspected, or not to put it in the power of her ad- 
herents to deny, that she either did not know her faith, or 
could not tell where to find it, or was unwilling to reveal it ? 
These questions are so natural, and almost irrepressible, 
that it became necessary for Rome to endeavour, or seem, to 
meet them by some other answer than fire and sword, where 
fire and sword could not be applied. This was an argu- 
ment of some cogency with Rome to make her more doc- 
trinally communicative, and open the scrutoire of her own 
bosom more freely than had hitherto been thought prudent. 
And had not the terror of heresy, particularly the Lutheran, 
which it was then her real and avowed object to suppress, 
interfered, she would probably have made a nearer approach 
to Christian truth in the doctrine, which she established ip 
this Council : for simple doctrine cost her nothing : it was 
reformation which she dreaded. But this approximation to 
truth, while it would render her cause more plausible and 



PREFACE. 



xxiii 



satisfactory on one hand, would, on the other, bring her so 
much nearer to those whom it was her main interest and 
object to oppose and condemn, and, if possible, crush. 
And these causes produced the doctrine, which the fathers, 
or managers, of the Tridentine Council, finally agreed to 
send forth to the world, as the faith of the Universal church, 
meaning, by that term, their own particular one. 

The following pages will, it is hoped, both throw some 
new light, and confirm what has already been shed, upon 
an important subject, and will furnish fresh cause of grati- 
tude to heaven in every Christian and Protestant heart, 
that the great enemy of truth and godliness, arrogating to 
herself, with characteristic effrontery and falsehood, the 
exclusive possession of both, has, at length, and in these 
latter ages by her own act rendered herself visible, tan- 
gible and vulnerable ; and now that the weapons of truth 
have a mark against which they can be effectually directed, 
the fate of the apostate is settled — Roma fuit. 

In order to show the authority which the canons and 
decrees of the Council of Trent exercise over the Roman 
catholic conscience, we have used as our motto an article 
of the creed and oath of Pius, expressive of such self-im- 
posed obligation. The whole of that creed is, indeed, that 
of the Council concentrated. Of this formulary, Dr. Milner, 
late Vicar apostolic of the midland district, writes in the 
xvith Letter of his End of Controversy, that, with other 
articles of Faith, it is e every where recited and professed 
to the strict letter.' C. Butler, Esq., in his letter to C. 
Blundell, Esq., prefixed to his Vindication, &c, has re- 
peated, that this creed ' has ever been considered in every 
part of the world as an explicit summary of the Roman 
catholic Faith.' In the examination of Dr. J. Doyle, 
before the Lords' Commissioners, on the state of Ireland, 



xxiv 



PREFACE. 



March 21, 1825, page 394 of the Report, that Proteus 
declared on oath, f The most approved and authentic sum- 
mary of the creed of the Roman catholic church will be 
found in the Decrees of the Council of Trent, and in the 
Profession of Faith of Pope Pius IV, and in what we call 
the Roman Catechism, or Catechism of the Council of 
Trent.' That Catechism was provided for, and by anticipa- 
tion sanctioned by the Council. Dr. D. Murray, usurping 
the archiepiscopal character, answered on the 22d of March 
1825, p. 224, the question of the Commissioners of the 
Commons, — where the most authentic exposition of the 
faith of his church was to be found, thus : < In that very 
creed that has been mentioned, the creed of Pius IV,' &c. 
Dr. Challoner, another Vicar apostolic, published a still 
popular tract on this creed, entitled e Grounds of the Ca- 
tholic Doctrine, &c.' The creed was promulgated by a 
bull, of the date of November 13, 1564, which imposes 
it upon all Doctors, Teachers, and Heads of Universities ; 
and another bull of the same day extends the obligation 
to all heads of monastic institutions, and military orders. 
See Bullarium Magnum at the dates*. 

It may be proper, before we conclude, just to advert to 
the promise made, in the first edition of the Canons and 
Decrees, of a speedy publication of the Acts of the Council 
— a promise, which, whether sincere or deceptive, can hardly 
be supposed to have proceeded from the private authority 
of the editor Paulo Manutio. His address to the Reader, 
which, additionally, on account of its disappearance from 

* See likewise a paper furnished by the writer, in the Protestant Journal 
for 1831, p. 70, and following. It is the first of a number, entitled 
Papal Bonds. It appears by the Declarationes MSS, torn, iii, at the end of 
the Second course of the Sessions, that Schoolmasters of Grammar and 
Science, even private ones, are included in the obligation of making the 
Profession. 



PREFACE. 



XXV 



future and modern editions, deserves to be made public, at 
least in the closing and more important part, presents that 
part in the following words — reliqua Concilii aeta, diligen- 
tissime per scribas publicos in ipso Concilio excepta, et 
litteris mandata, mox ita emittentur, ut, queecunque res in 
controversiam venerit, qusecunque vel sententia dicta, vel 
oratio habita sit, omnia denique agitata, qusesita, delibe- 
rata, suo quidque loco, distincte, et abundanter exponan- 
tur. Interim accipe summam rei, lector optime, quae ad 
salutem vehem enter pertinet : universam vero Tridentini 
Concilii, trium Pontificum distinctam temporibus, histo- 
riam, eodem, cujus ad gloriam hsec omnia diriguntur, ju- 
vante Deo, propediem expecta. nullam enim tanti negotii 
partem ignorare, non modo jucundum est, verum ad multa 
etiam utile, et accommodatum : quod aliorum Conciliorum 
lectio declarat. Romse, MDLXIV. 

It requires no GEdipus to say why these Acts never 
issued, by the good w 7 ill of the possessors, beyond the cases 
where they reposed, and still repose, in the Vatican. 

Sutton Coldfield, 

January 1, 1834. 



FACIES CONCILII TEMPORE SESSIONIS. 



n 



ALT ARE. 



Cantores 
in sublimi. 



siden 




tes. 




Cele- 
brans . 







> 








P 


> 














co" 










§ 




CO 

O 


1. 

m 








I- 


n 










|. 



















td 

o 

5" 

T3 



Cursores. 



Pergula Cursores. 



Locus promiscuus vulgi & famulorum. 



Custodes ad 
januam. 



Le Plat, Collect. Monum. vn, Par. alt. p. 45. 
Ichnography was certainly no object of attention in this View. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Introduction .... I 

Session 

I. Opening of the Council under Paul III. . .34 
II. Mode of living, &c. in the Council . .36 

III. Symbol of Faith . . . . .41 

IV. Canonical Scriptures . . . .48 
V. Doctrine : Original Sin — Reformation : Lecturers, 

Preachers, and Quaestors . . . .62 

VI. Doctrine : Justification — Reformation: Residence: 

Excesses of Clerics, Secular and Regular . . 79 

VII. Doctrine: Sacraments in General, Baptism and Con- 
firmation — Reformation: Cathedrals, Benefices, &c. 
Bull for Translation . . . .108 

VIII. Translation to Bologna . . . .118 

IX. Prorogation of Session. Bologna I. . .121 

X. Prorogation of Session. Bologna II. . .125 

XI. Resumption of the Council under Julius III. . 139 

XII. Prorogation of Session .... 141 

XIII. Doctrine : Eucharist — Reformation : Ecclesiastical 

Regulations — Safe Conduct . . .143 

XIV. Doctrine: Penance and Extreme Unction — Reforma- 

tion : Ecclesiastical Regulations . . .152 

XV. Prorogation of Session — Safe Conduct . . 158 

XVI. Suspension of the Council — Subsequent Events . 162 
XVII. Celebration of the Council under Pius IV. . .171 
XVIII. Index of books— Safe Conduct . . .179 

XIX. Prorogation of Session . . . . 1 94 

XX. Prorogation of Session .... 204 
XXI. Doctrine: Communion in both kinds : Infants, &c. — 

Bishops, Monasteries, Queestors, &c. . .210 
XXII. Doctrine: Sacrifice of the Mass— Reformation : Ec- 
clesiastical Regulations .... 224 



xxviii 



CONTENTS. 



Session Page 

XXIII. Doctrine : Order — Reformation: Residence, Eccle- 

siastical Regulations . . . .241 

XXIV. Doctrine : Matrimony—Reformation : Ecclesiastical 

Regulations . . . . .279 

XXV '. Doctrine : Purgatory: Indulgences, Invocation, Ve- 
neration and Relics of Saints, Sacred Images, &c. — 
Regulars and Nuns — Reformation : Cardinals, Ex- 
communication, Episcopal Sees, &c, Duelling, &c. 
— Index of Books, Catechism, Revisal of Breviary 



and Missal committed to the Pope . .305 



APPENDIX. 

Colloquy of Ratisbon in 1546 . . . .325 

Reserved Cases ...... 326 

Auto de Fe at Valladolid in 1559 .... 334 

The Reformation in France .... 340 

Bula Cruzada ...... 344 

Confirmation of the Council by the Pope . . . 359 

Encyclical Letter of Pope Gregory XVI. . . . 359 



PLATES. 

The Council in Session . . .To face the Title. 

Facsimiles of Autographs of eminent persons connected with 

the Council . . . . . . 323 



ACCOUNT 



OF THE 

PLATE OF THE COUNCIL IN SESSION. 

Gratitude and justice compel me to make public my obligation 
to the Rev. Thomas Hartwell Horne, not only for the knowledge 
of the engraving itself here copied, and the book containing it, 
Trento con il Sacro Concilio, &c, by M. A. Mariani, a copy 
of which is among the treasures of the British Museum, but like- 
wise for the facilities furnished by him of getting it copied in out- 
line, as has been done, and in a style, if I mistake not, much to 
the credit of the artist. I am indeed indebted to the same source 
for all the information which I am able to give on the subject. 

It would have been a considerable satisfaction if I could have 
obtained an explanation of the numbers affixed to several of the 
principal figures, as they are said to be portraits ; but my friend, 
(upon whose information I am obliged to rely, not having had 
the opportunity, from continued residence in the country, of 
inspecting the book, or plate, myself,) informs me, that no expla- 
nations corresponding with the numbers are found in the work. 
The author merely writes, describing the church of Santa Maria 
Maggiore, that in it may be seen on the right hand of the High 
Altar a square picture by the hand, and from the design , of Helia 
Nauritio. The plate is then inserted, and this is followed by 
thirty-two pages of brief notices of the proceedings of each ses- 
sion, including the anathemas against all heretics at the close, with 
a list of prelates and others present. Mr. Horne supposes that 
some explanatory reference might have been intended, but was 
left unexecuted. The numbers, however, are retained, because 
they evidently point out the order of precedence, if that indeed 
were not the only intention. Possibly some other work may exist 



XXX 



which would throw some light upon the subject : at all events 
the numbers are a part of the plate. That plate was executed 
after the original painting in the above-mentioned church, in, or 
before, the year 1673, — more than a century and a half, there- 
fore, from the present year : and it is a certain inference, that, at 
that time, the original must have been in a far more perfect state 
than it is at present, and as seen and described by M. Inglis. 
See note in page 17 of the present memoirs. 

I should add, that the engraving accompanying this volume 
is of precisely the same dimensions as that which it represents, 
and is therefore, as far as an outline can be, a fac simile, pre- 
serving perhaps all the effect which is material of the original. 

The variation which may be observed between this plate and 
the sketch which has been transferred from the pages of Le Plat, 
may be accounted for from the fact, that the latter is taken from 
the Acts of Massarelli, as first published by Martene, in his 
Collect. Vet. Monument., and by its position represents the 
arrangement of the session at the very commencement of the 
Council, while the former is as plainly a representation of the 
same at the conclusion of the Council. The reconciliation of the 
two, however, on any supposition, does not rest with the author. 
His work will pretty amply and satisfactorily explain most of the 
particulars in the engraving. The reader should be aware that 
the sessions were held, not in the church where the painting is, 
but in the cathedral. 



CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 

Page 7, line 3 from bottom, for D'Espence read d'Espense. 
24, 1. 9, for in their favour read in favour of the heretics. 
42, I. 2, for they read the fathers. 
62, 1. 10 from bottom, for lectures read lecturers. 

65, 1. 8, for they continue read the writer continues. 

66, 1. 8, for even read ever. 

102, 1. 11, for ourselves read themselves. 
121, 1. 12 from bottom, for legate read legates. 
149, 1. 2, after debated add one. 
158, 1. 17 from bottom, for this read their. 

160, 1. 6 from bottom, for (;) put (,). 

161, 1. 5 from bottom, for traditions read tradition. 
175, 1. 2, after to add make it. 

186, 1. 2 from bottom, for Glories read Glorier. 

264, top of the page, respecting the calumny against Beza. Calumnies, 
or untruths uttered in vituperation of heretics, are not charged upon 
Romanists by Protestants alone. Hear how one of their own commu- 
nion, and an honest one, speaks of them. ' All which being true'— 
the subject is the case of the most respectable deserter of the Roman 
communion, Dr. Andrew Sail, — ' it were worth the while to consider, 
' what it is hurries on our Catholic Writers generally to such exorbi- 
' tant Passions, and barbarous Language (besides many downright 
' Lies and meer Calumnies often) against all those that leave our 
* Church ?' These are the words of Peter Walsh, of St. Francis's 
Order, Professor of Divinity, in the second of his Four Letters, &c„ 
Printed 1686, page 69. Let the reader ponder the charge, of down- 
right lies, and mere calumnies, and generally thus brought 
against assumed Catholics by one far better than the greater part of 
them! Dr. O'Conor would furnish matter not less disgraceful to 
the veracity of a portion, and a large one too, of his own church- 
See his Historical Address passim. 
268, 1. 3 from bottom,/or Havera read Haveva. 

273, to end of first Note add. At all events the number must be under 19. 

280, 1. 19, for Lara read Luna. 

315, 1. 9, for this read those of the present. 

318, first paragraph of the Note in that page. The argument there 
represented is precisely the same as that which is adduced by Manuel 
Rodriguez in his Explicacion de la Bulla de la Cruzada, foil. 71, 72, 
to prove that the Pope has a right to grant Indulgences of a Thousand 
years, (de mil anos.) Manuel is rigid in requiring due qualification 



XXXII 



in the recipient of the Indulgence, and insists, notwithstanding the 
frequent wording of the instrument, that poena only, and not culpa, 
are included in the remission. He adduces other testimonies in cor- 
roboration of his main argument. 
318, 1. 9, after is add from the legates. 

334. The book, which, in referring to the review of it at the close of the 
article — Reserved Cases — I have designated too figuratively as an 
edition of the Garden of the Soul, is properly entitled The Catholic 1 a 
Prayer Book, Sec, by Rev. John Fletcher, and patronized in particu- 
lar by that mollifier, and betrayer, of Roman Catholicity, the Vicar 
Apostolic of the Western District. 

In referring to Fra Paolo Sarpi's Letters in the Preface, the 
author was obliged at the time to depend upon the translation into 
English by the Rev. Edward Brown, who certainly wrote Latin better 
than English : but the extract given is sufficiently correct and intel- 
ligible. 



It is remarkable, that among the Papal Medals there is not extant one 
struck with decisive reference to the Council of Trent. Those with the legend 
on the reverse, tu autem idem ipse es, of the two pontiffs reigning at the 
commencement and close of the Council; and the tui sectator of the last, 
are perfectly doubtful. — See the works of Bonanni and Venuti. 



MEMOIRS 

OF THE 

COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



INTRODUCTION. 

Most of the historians of the Council of Trent take their 
commencement from the decisive and formidable resistance 
made by the Augustine monk, Martin Luther, to the 
authority and impositions of the Bishop of Rome. That 
resistance was, in the first instance, very respectful and 
measured. Nothing is more remarkable than, that in a 
letter to his own friends, two years after what may be called 
his passage of the Rubicon, his opposition to the abuse in 
the sale of indulgences, lie makes the distinction, in favour 
of Rome, between its court and its church; the latter of 
which he characterizes ' as the purest marriage-bed of 
f Christ, the mother of churches, the spiritual mistress of 

* the world, the spouse of Christ, the daughter of God, 

* the terror of hell, the victory over the flesh, in fine, whose 
e are all things, and she Christ's.*' But this view could not 
be expected to last. The very principle of the original 
opposition possessed a character which> unless it produced 
repentance and reformation in the object reprobated, would 

* Quare et ego horum Theologorum laiconim exemplo pulcherrimo, 
longissime, latissime, profundissime distinguo inter Romanam Ecclesiam 
et Romanam Curiam. Illam scio purissimum esse thalamum Christi, 
matrem Ecclesiarum, dominam mundi, sed spiritu, id est, vitiorum, noil 
rerum mundi, sponsam Christi, filiam Dei, terrorem inferni, victoriam carnis ; 
et quid dicam ? cujus sunt omnia. Epistt. torn. i. fol. 136. ed. Berlin. 1579. 
This epistle, although without a date, is assigned to the year 1519. There 
are subsequent epistles which contain the same distinction, and use nearly 
the same language. 

B 



2 



INTRODUCTION. 



naturally and almost necessarily issue in a general oppo- 
sition to the whole system, the spirit as well as body, 
of the papacy; and that would assume, as it proceeded, 
an attitude and strength which it would be in vain to at- 
tempt to put down by force. An irresistible providence 
urged on its own purposes independently of the consciousness 
or unconsciousness of its agents ; and the very uncertainty in 
the power resisted, whether the nascent rebellion might not be 
smothered by expedients short of extreme ones, produced a 
hesitation and inaction which favoured the progress of the 
movement to such a degree as to render all future measures to 
resist its impetuosity hopeless. The progressive triumph of 
what we call the Reformation was now secure. The seminal 
cause therefore of the Council of Trent is justly considered 
to be, the public remonstrance of Luther against the venal 
indulgences issued by the pontiff Leo X, in the year 1517. 
The Venetian historian accordingly, and of course the Ro- 
man one, his pursuer, start from the same point. In this 
they did but follow, we may presume, the example of pre- 
ceding manuscript histories, as well as the general opinion. 

But of this insurrection against the corruption and 
tyranny of Rome there were still earlier and urgent causes. 
The latter part of the fourteenth century witnessed a schism 
in the papacy, which brought upon it much disgrace even 
in its own world. The eyes of even the most devoted sub- 
jects of the Roman see were opened by the scandalous 
spectacle of the opposition and warfare of the heads of 
their religion — rival chief pastors of the church, successors 
of the apostles, vicars of Jesus Christ on earth, hurling 
their anathemas at each other like children of the Evil one. 
And it is well if each party had not cause to be believed. 
But the effect, and a natural one, was, that a reformation 
in the church, a reformation both in the head and the 
members, was loudly called for by even the papal world. 
In answer to this call was assembled the first general council 
of Pisa, in 1409, which assuming to decide on the subject 
of faith as well as of schism, in its sixteenth session deposed 



INTRODUCTION. 



3 



the two concurrent and hostile popes of the time, not only 
as schismatics, but as heretics — the heads of the infallible 
church heretics, and condemned as such by a council! — 
and in their place substituted another. This did but ag- 
gravate the evil and scandal; for the sentence being de- 
spised by the deposed pontiffs, the church had then three 
heads instead of two, and they mutually hostile. To 
abolish, not the triple crown, but the three heads who con- 
tended to wear it, and to expel from the throne of the 
universal church the spiritual Cerberus which had usurped 
authority over it, a general council was convened at Con- 
stance, which assuming sovereign authority, and expressly 
the right of effecting a reformation * of the church, as that 
of Pisa had done before, both in the head and the mem- 
bers, deposed the whole apostolic triumvirate, and gave 
the spiritual monarchy of Rome to a man of their own 
choice and creation, Martin V, who with all his successors 
in a line, whether broken or unbroken, to the present time, 
derive their sole title to the rank and office of vicars of 
Christ upon earth to a council, which at the same time 
decreed itself, and in act assumed to be, superior to the 
pope ; or they have no title at all. The newly elected pope 
took care to perform little or none of his engagements to 
reformation. Another council was convoked, as had been 
provided for, after the time stipulated for enforcing the 
neglected reformation had elapsed, at Basil, in 1423. Its 
express and professed objects were two: the union of the 
Greek and Latin churches, and the reformation of the 
church in its head and members. Its history has been 
recorded by a member with so much fidelity, that when, 
as afterwards, he mounted the apostolic chair, he felt him- 
self reduced to the humiliation of publicly retracting and 
condemning what he had written ; and the work stands in 

* Sess. iv. and v. The two are put together ; for the reader must know, 
that some shuffling was resorted to by the pontifical agents to smother, 
if not prevent, the clause concerning reformation of the head and members. 
See Lenfant's History of the Council. 

b2 



4 



INTRODUCTION. 



the black list of books prohibited by the Roman see, and 
as a monument of papal attachment to truth. The wily and 
indignant pontiff, however, then reigning, who had no dis- 
position to reform or be reformed, assembled an opponent 
council which finally removed to Florence, in 1439, whence 
he levelled the thunder of his excommunications against the 
fathers of Basil. That council, however, deposed Euge- 
nius and elected in his room Felix V; and the schism 
was at length healed by the death of the former about the 
middle of the fifteenth century. The affairs of the Italian 
church enjoyed comparative repose from that time to the 
time of the Reformation ; although the apostolic chair was 
disgraced by the individual vices of its occupants. 

It is at the era of the Reformation, as has been observed, 
that our first historians commence. Luther and his cause 
were making so rapid and determined a progress, that 
Leo X, the reigning pontiff, was at length roused, and 
attempted to stem the torrent by a violent and puerile bull 
in 1520. Some foreign universities lent their best aid, but 
in vain. They condemned and burned the books of the 
reformer: but his doctrine was making its triumphant way; 
and Leo did not gain much by exasperating a superior 
foe. At the close of his luxurious and ungodly life, he was 
succeeded by an individual, who, for his circumstances, was 
not without comparative merit, Adrian VI. The austerity 
of his life and manners formed a contrast with the licen- 
tiousness of his predecessor much to his advantage. He 
began his pontificate with some attempt to reform his court. 
His design, however, was opposed by one of the cardinals, 
who observed, that to reform would be to canonize the cause 
of Luther, which he should unite with the princes, in 
endeavouring to extirpate*. He accordingly sent his legate 
to the diet of Nuremberg, then sitting, 1522, who en- 
deavoured to compromise matters by making the sup- 

* II cardinal Soderini combatte il Papa a non far riforma, che sarebbe un 
canonizzare la causa di Martino, ma collegarsi con le Prencipi, et estir- 
parlo ; oude il Papa, &c. Diario del Cone. T. lib. i. 



INTRODUCTION. 



5 



pression of Lutheranism the condition of the reformation 
of the papal court. This proposal produced the list of 
grievances presented in the name of the assembled princes, 
known by the title of Centum Gravamina. 

This is a document of great importance, and deserves to 
be more extensively known than it is, particularly in this 
country. Various editions of it are extant. The better 
known of them are — 1, that contained in the Fasciculus 
Rerum Expetendarum ac Fugiendarum of Orthuinus Gra- 
tius, Cologne, 1535, (the more unexceptionable as pro- 
ceeding from an editor of the Roman communion, and a 
good an ti- Lutheran,) and of course in Brown's reprint ; 
2, in Wolfius's Lectiones Memorabiles; 3, in Le Plat's 
Collectio Monumentorum, &c, — not to mention a great 
variety of other editions, chiefly, as might be expected, 
German. But by far the most valuable and interesting 
edition is the first; and it is very rare. It is in 4to., and 
printed at Nuremberg, in 1523, by Fred. Peypus. I have 
the book, bound up with other similar tracts, but it is 
described in the proper place in Panzer. The title is a long 
and a strange one : In hoc libello Pontificii oratoris conti- 
netur legatio, in conventu Norembergensi, Anno M.D.xxii. 
inchoato, sequenti vero finite, exposita, una cum instructione 
ab eodem legato consignata: necnon responsione Caesareae 
Majestatis, ac reliquorum Principum & Procerum nomine 
reddita. Insunt & gravamina Germanicae nationis iniquis- 
sima centum, ac nullo pacto ulterius a Romano Pontifice 
et spiritualibus (ut vocant) toleranda, a laicis Principibus, 
& Imperii primatibus Uteris mandata, ac summo Pontifici 
transmissa — with about as much more, describing the papal 
extortions in ecclesiastic property, of which an alphabetic 
list is inserted at the end. An Italian translation, in my 
possession likewise, of this rare tract was published ap- 
parently in the same year, but with no mark of any kind. 
The title commences — Quivi e descriptor quello ha exequire 
lo Oratore, and so on. 

About ten years before, a similar list, containing ten griev- 



6 



INTRODUCTION. 



ances, had been published in the same way. They now 
amounted to ten times the number ; and that number might 
easily have been enlarged. 

Adrian, although chiefly intent upon crushing Luther and 
his doctrine, was, for the attainment of that object, willing to 
make great sacrifices, and, in order to them, very humble 
confessions. In one of his instructions to his legate, he com- 
missions him to say : — f We acknowledge that, in this holy 
' see, there have for some years been many abominations, 
c abuses in spirituals, excesses in mandates, — all things, in 

* fine, perverted. Nor is it to be wondered, if the sickness of 
' the head should descend to the members, that of the chief 
' pontiffs to the other inferior prelates. We have all (prelates 
' and ecclesiastics) declined to our own ways; and it has been 
f long that there was none who did good, no not one. Where- 

* fore,' &c* Such language was little likely to please any 
Roman sycophant ; and Pallavicino could not well do other- 
wise than applaud the simplicity of the pontiff at the expense 
of his prudence. 

The Italian Diarist has noticed and described the con- 
tents of the Centum Gravamina in fair proportion. He has 
specified the various extortions, expensive dispensations, 
absolutions, indulgences, pecuniary penances, and so forth. 
But the document is too important to be dismissed in a 
summary way. Let the reader take any edition of the book 
into his hand, and peruse only a few of the century of 
charges which the lay and principal members of a great 
legislative assembly of the German empire felt themselves 
impelled to bring against an authority, which they still ac- 
knowledged as supreme in spirituals. Let him begin with the 
third article, on the burthen of papal indulgences, by which 
money was drawn in profusion from the simple, brought like 
any other commodity for sale into public market, and in pro- 

* Scimus in hac sancta sede, aliquot jam annis, multa abominanda fuisse, 
abusus iu spiritualibus, excessus in mandatis, & omnia denique in perversum 
mutata. Nec mirum, si egritudo a capite in membra, a summis pontificibns 
in alios inferiores praelatos descenderit. Omnes nos, &c. 



INTRODUCTION. 



? 



portion to the price paid conferring what the purchaser 
could not understand otherwise than as a licence to sin; 
whence all kinds of specified iniquity. Let him read in 
article vii what is affirmed of the authorized questors, 
the stationary preachers of indulgences — their impostures, 
their extortions. Not to detain himself with the minor, 
although scandalous impositions respecting ecclesiastic be- 
nefices, the Annates, Reservations, Expectative graces, and 
various assumptions of temporal jurisdiction, let him pro- 
ceed at once to the lxviith article, where the ecclesiastic 
judges and officials are charged with aggravating the 
spiritual penance to such a degree, that laics are induced 
to purchase immunity with money, which goes no farther 
than the private pocket of the ecclesiastics. Let him, in 
article Ixxiv, read how double fees are imposed upon some 
for the same offence; and in the two following, the charge 
of unchastity and profligacy in the lives of the clergy. 
Article xc is to much the same purpose ; and the next, 
openly, in the face of the world, and in the ears of his 
holiness at Rome, like all the rest, declares, that while con- 
cubines were allowed to priests on the payment of a certain 
tax, the same tax was levied upon those who lived conti- 
nently, because the bishop was in want, and they were at 
liberty to do otherwise at their option*. The xciiid article 
asserts and exposes the pertinacity with which the vagabond 
Terminaries and Stationaries, monks and priests, infested 
sick beds, and the artifices which they used to obtain 
legacies-}-. The whole, however, of this portentous docu- 

* Item in locis plerisque Episcopi & eorum officiates non solum sacer- 
dotum tolerant concubinatum, dummodo certa persolvatur pecunia, sed 
& sacerdotes continentes, & qui absque concubinis degunt, concubinatus 
censum persolvere cogunt, asserentes, Episcopum pecuniae indigum esse, qua 
soluta, licere sacerdotibus, ut vel ccelibes permaneant, vel concubinas alant. 
Quam res haec sit nefanda, nemo non intelligit. 

f This document confirms all the villany of the Taxa? Pcenitentiarise as 
stigmatized still later by the indignant and honest Claude D'Espence, who 
saw a little more than « Fees of Office' in them. See Taxatio Papalis, and 
Life and Pontificate of St. Pius V, pp. 266—280. 



8 



INTRODUCTION. 



ment ought to be read to convey an adequate view of the 
superlative iniquity of the church, as well as court, of 
Rome, at the time. e The whole head was sick, and the 
' whole heart faint : from the sole of the foot even unto the 
s head, there was no soundness in it. ; but wounds and 
c bruises, and putrifying sores*.' So the prophet denounced 
the church and court of Jerusalem; and Rome was not 
more pure. 

It might have been expected, that a roll of such grievous 
charges against the dominant church would not be left in 
quiet and natural enjoyment of its authority by the regular 
retainers of that church ; and by some of that number it has 
been stigmatized as a Lutheran production. Precisely be- 
cause it has exposed ulcers in the church of Rome, which 
many of her most attached friends had almost as freely and 
severely done before, therefore this church, as sore under 
censure as deserving of it, is to be exculpated by a gratuitous 
insinuation against her accusers ! This objection is encoun- 
tered by an editor of the Gravamina, at Francfort, 1778, in a 
preface, where he proves, with satisfactory force, that there 
is no internal evidence whatever — the only kind of evidence 
adduced — that the instrument in question was not the pro- 
duction of good, orthodox Catholics, as they were then deno- 
minated ; and that, in the cases in which the doctrine and 
practice of the papal church may appear to be impugned, 
the object of censure is, not the doctrine or practice, but the 
abuse. Besides that the authors of the remonstrance uni- 
formly express themselves towards the Roman see in that 
filial form, which is quite repugnant to the usage of the 
Lutherans, or reputed heretics. If, moreover, this were a 
Lutheran work, how happens it that cotemporaries should be 
so ignorant of the fact, that the earliest reimpressions of it 
should issue from papal presses ? Should this argument, 
however, be deemed insufficient, the question may be set at 
rest, in all fair estimate, by the testimony of Zuingle, who. 



* Is. i. 5, 6. 



INTRODUCTION. 



9 



in the second part of his De Seditionum Authoribus*, ex- 
pressly ascribes the work to existing and genuine subjects of 
the pope. In fact, none but those who are upon the watch 
for a sophistic evasion,, and can condescend to use one when 
within their reach, can, with the slightest show of real reason, 
support a remaining doubt upon the subject. The reader, 
it is trusted, will be satisfied that the importance and nature 
of the subject justify the length to which our observations 
upon it have extended. 

The friends of real Christianity, which, under present cir- 
cumstances, necessarily implied substantial and considerable 
reformation, had little to expect from the ascetic and super- 
stitious virtues of Adrian ; and his early removal, whether 
natural or not, put a termination to all hopes or fears respect- 
ing his personal performances in the purification of his 
church. 

In the mean time, the Reformation, headed and led by 
Luther and his friends, lost no ground. It is not our pur- 
pose, in this preliminary sketch, to dwell at length upon 
events generally known ; it is, therefore, sufficient to observe, 
that the Confession of Faith, exhibited at the Diet of Augs- 
burg in 1530, made the union of the Protestant band firmer, 
and served to distinguish their real friends from their real 
foes. The publication of the work, already referred to, of 
Orthuinus Gratius, being a collection of highly reputable 
pieces, detailing and inveighing against the existing and pal- 
pable corruptions of the Roman church, made it evident that 
the aspirations for a reformation were the voice, not of vision- 
ary or interested heretics, but of those likewise who would 
have taken great offence at the slightest imputation upon the 
purity of their Roman Catholicism. This publication ap- 
peared in the year 1535. 

The importunate demands for a reformation of some kind 
and degree, from all quarters, obliged the new pope, Paul 
IIL, to improve previous negotiation and amusement on the 
subject of a council into the actual indiction of one, which 

* Huld. Zuinglii Opp. Par. ii. fol. 140. Tig. 1581. 



10 



INTRODUCTION. 



was appointed to meet at Mantua, by a bull dated June 4, 
1536, and the king of England was cited to it. Henry had 
formerly appealed from the pope to a general council ; but 
he had just been excommunicated, and for other reasons he 
was indisposed to obey the present citation. Availing him- 
self of a convocation then sitting, he obtained its judgement 
on the authority of general councils * ; upon the strength of 
which he made and published a protestation against the 
council then convoked -f\ 

The demand for reformation produced another, and rather 
singular proposal of the pontiff, by which, if successful, he 
might hope to parry the worst part of the evils naturally to 
be anticipated from a council. In the year 1537, he deputed 
four cardinals and five eminent prelates to examine into the 

* See Herbert's History of Henry VIII, under the year 1536. He is the 
first authority. The Judgement, however, must have been published near 
the time, and by itself, as it is included in the Prohibitory Index of Paul 
IV, under R — Regis, & Senatus Anglici, &c. The date of the indiction of 
the council is worth noticing, since, in an inscription of one of the pictures 
in the Vatican Library, representing the Council of Trent, the council is 
said to have begun twenty-six years before the date of its termination. 
Pansa, della Lib. Vat. 1590, p. 208. 

| See Foxe's Acts and Monuments, Strype's Memorials, and others, under 
1536. In all the important transactions of the reign of Henry VIII, and 
in this in particular, Archbishop Cranmer had a principal concern. For tbe 
more distinct statement of this fact, I am indebted to a work, the most valu- 
able, as an historical one, which the Oxford press has for a long time pro- 
duced. The Remains of that admirable prelate reflect great credit upon the 
editor, the Rev. Henry Jenkyns, Fellow of Oriel College, who, by his labo- 
rious and successful research, and the unsophisticated integrity of his logic, 
has done an essential service to Protestantism, at a time when it suffers, not 
more from professed foes, than from ambiguous or incompetent friends, 
i, ix — xiii. At page cx is an important note, which, by the aid of MS. au- 
thority, demonstrates, with what levity and calumny the present papal his- 
torian of England, and, from him, the present master of Rugby school, have 
imputed to the Reformatio Legum, and thence to the church of England, an 
express sanction of the principle of punishing heretics with death. If the 
charge were as just as it is gratuitous, the whole credit would be due to 
Rome, whence the principle was inherited. It may be difficult and even 
invidious to determine, whether this and other misrepresentations be par- 
tially excusable by ignorance, or fixed in their native guilt by knowledge ; 
but doubtless, either a retractation of the past, or a delicate forbearance for 
the future, would be rather a fulfilment, than a violation, of Christian Duty. 



INTRODUCTION. 



11 



abuses of his own court, and propose such a reformation as 
was needful or practicable. There can be no doubt that it 
was more desirable for his holiness to do this himself than to 
be compelled to do it by others. The fact is admitted on all 
hands. The Diary mentions it, and enters into some detail ; 
Pallavicino into much greater, as behoved an apologist. 
The cardinals named in this deputation were Contarino, Sado- 
leto, Carafa, (afterwards pontiff, under the name of Paul 
IV, which is to be remembered,) and our own countryman, 
Polo, better recognized in this country by the English form, 
Pole. 

The advice which this small but select body felt them- 
selves authorized and called upon to present to his holiness, 
was printed in the ensuing year in Rome, by the pontifical 
printer, in 4to, under the title — Consilium Delectorum Car- 
dinalium & aliorum Prselatorum, de emendanda Ecclesia, 
S. D. N. D. Paulo Tertio ipso jubente conscriptum, & 
exhibitum Anno M.D.xxxviii. There is no dispute respect- 
ing such an edition, although I have not the edition or pre- 
cise title before me. This, however, is the title of another 
edition, in a small form, printed at Antwerp in the same year 
by John Steelsius, in my possession, with the exception of 
the mistake of concilium for consilium. I have likewise, 
which are not in many hands, the edition in the same year 
by John Sturmius, with a subjoined Epistle, and that by 
Pet. P. Vergerio, with his pungent Introduction, printed at 
Strasburg in 1555, both in 4to. The reprints are about as 
multiplied as those of the congenial German Grievances, 
and found in the same volumes. 

This curious and important document commences with a 
compliment to his holiness, and an eulogy on truth, which, 
on account of the flatterers besetting the courts of princes, 
did not gain so much attention from his predecessors. It 
professes to concern itself only with the ecclesiastical portion 
of his jurisdiction ; and would banish from that every influence 
of a pecuniary description. It enumerates a variety of abuses 
respecting church preferment, — the granting it to foreigners 



12 



INTRODUCTION. 



. to the nation where it is situated ; deceptive resignations ; 
unions; pluralities; and, particularly, (which was highly 
disinterested,) the accumulation of benefices upon cardinals, 
who, by local attendance upon the Roman court, could not 
discharge personally the duties of their proper cures. Hence 
the neglect of pastoral duties, with all its baneful conse- 
quences. The inmates of monasteries, likewise, afforded 
very disgraceful examples. Confessors, too, were not without 
their faults. The nunneries were a scene of notorious licen- 
tiousness ; so that it was expedient to withdraw them from 
the superintendence of the monks. Questions, even in 
churches, were allowed of a dangerous latitude ; and it was 
advisable that so mischievous a book as Erasmus's Collo- 
quies should be prohibited. The religious, who traverse the 
country with the relics of St. Anthony and other saints, 
and who thereby encourage the vulgar in infinite supersti- 
tions, ought to be put down. The clergy, it is added, are 
frequently allowed to marry; a dispensation which ought 
never to be given unless for the preservation of some people 
or nation, where there should exist the gravest possible cause ; 
especially now, when the Lutherans urge this point with 
extreme pertinacity *. Simony is then chastised : the clergy 
ought not to be allowed to alienate church property except 
on great occasions, nor should licence to perform divine ser- 
vice in private, and to choose a priest, be granted without 
equally strong reason. Indulgences ought not to be too 
frequently repeated, — indeed, but once a year, and in prin- 
cipal cities y. This little council is much scandalized at the 
sordid attire in which the officiating ministers celebrate mass 
even in St. Peter's cathedral; and, proceeding with more 
formidable censure, it declares, in this very city strumpets 
walk about it like honest matrons, or ride on mules accom- 

* Hsec dispensatio non esset ulli danda, nisi pro conservations populi cu- 
juspiam vel gentis, ubi esset publica causa gravissima ; praesertim his tempo- 
ribus, &c. 

f Nec Indulgentise item dandse essent nisi semel in anno, in unaquaque 
insignium civitatum. The censors are careful not to err by excessive and 
imprudent severity. 



INTRODUCTION. 



L3 



panied in mid-day by nobles,, friends of cardinals, and by 
clerics. In no city, say they, have we witnessed such cor- 
ruption but in this, the exemplar of all : they even dwell in 
sumptuous houses — a vile abuse which ought to be cor- 
rected *. 

These charges, however softened, are not light ; but they 
were far from reaching the extent of the existing corruptions. 
Pallavicino, who is obliged to admit their justice, yet con- 
soles himself and his readers with the attempt to prove that 
many reforms were subsequently put in execution : he is but 
feebly, however, borne out by the fact. 

Although no dispute has ever been raised respecting this 
penitential and self-condemnatory document, there is one 
remarkable circumstance relative to it, which has afforded 
matter for spirited controversy. It will be recollected that 
one of the cardinal-deputies was Carafa. He afterwards 
became Paul IV. In 1559 he published an Index of prohi- 
bited books. In it appears, under the letter L, the article, 
Lib. inscrip. Consilium de emendanda Ecclesia — the very 
work, which he was principally concerned in drawing up and 
presenting to the pontiff at the time. All this is perfectly 
natural, although not very honourable, either to the Roman 
see, to the pontiff, or to himself. A modern and very inge- 
nuous cardinal, therefore, Cardinal Quirini, felt himself 
called upon to nullify or dilute the disgraceful fact. This 
he attempted by labouring to prove, that the book intended 
was, not the genuine one, edited by a papal press at Rome 
or elsewhere, but some one of the heretical editions ; an eva- 
sion, from which he was most triumphantly driven by the 
laborious and acute Schelhorn, in a particular and extended 
work on the subject, embracing a quantity of other interesting 
matter, published at Zurich in 1748. It is impossible, ac- 

* In hac etiam Urbe meretrices ut matronge incedunt per Urbem, seu 
mula vehuntur, quas assectantur de media die Nobiles familiares Cardinalium, 
Clericique. Nulla in urbe videmus hanc corruptionem, praaterquam in hac 
omnium exemplari. Habitant etiam insignes sedes ; corrigendus etiam hie 
turpi s abusus. Pius V set himself vigorously to correct it — for it was not 
then corrected — but was obliged to compromise. 



14 



INTRODUCTION. 



cording to any rational anticipation, that the same defence 
can ever again be put up ; and we must in charity believe, 
that the celebrated Le Plat was unacquainted with the work, 
or he could never, in the year 1781, have pretended to acqui- 
esce in the conclusion of Quirini. The repentance of Carafa 
and his associates, whether feigned or real, was, when the 
same Carafa became pope, not only repented of, but con- 
demned — condemned by himself — condemned publicly and 
formally in the very instrument which expressed it. This 
indeed was but following the notorious example of one of his 
predecessors ; but it is an additional proof that, when times 
change, even popes change with them. Paul III, however, 
the pontiff reigning at the time with which we are now con- 
cerned, took the substance of the counsel into consideration, 
and, consulting his cardinals, was told by his eminence of 
Capua, that it was not a time to attempt reform, when man- 
kind was so headstrong that, if restrained in one direction, it 
would satisfy its inclination in a worse ; besides that the act 
would give occasion to the Lutherans to triumph and insult. 
But the cardinal of Chieti, declaring that reform was neces- 
sary, it was determined to put off the affair to another time*. 

After two prorogations, the pontiff published a bull to 
assemble the council at Vicenza, in the Venetian territory, 
on the 1st of May, 1537 ; and even sent three legates to 
open it in the following year. Against this new announce- 
ment and location of a council, the king of England published 
a fresh protestation, dated April 8, 1538 f. The pope sus- 
pended the meeting on the 10th of June, 1539 J. 

In the mean time, imperial diets were being held ; which 
produced great terror in Rome, lest the temporal sovereigns 
should take the matter of reformation into their own hands, 
and assume to themselves the office, which the bishop of 
Rome regarded as exclusively his own, of interfering with, 
and regulating, affairs of religion. Between this terror and 

* Diario, lib. i. 

f See Foxe and Strype under the year in their respective works. 
£ All these documents are to be found in Le Plat. 



INTRODUCTION. 



15 



the antagonist one of being necessitated to call a council, 
which, if it effected any true and adequate reformation in 
doctrine or discipline, would bring certain destruction to the 
whole system of the papacy, the mind of its sovereign was 
distracted ; and the dilemma produced all those vacillating, 
but almost uniformly corrupt, measures, by which, through- 
out, the Synod of Trent was characterized. 

At the Diet of Ratisbon, in 1541, the papal legate had 
instructions that, if anything were proposed derogatory to the 
authority of the Roman see, the colloquy should be inter- 
rupted, and a general council brought forward as the only 
sufficient remedy for the existing evils. The consequences 
of this diet were important, as it determined the pontiff, not 
only to assent to, but to urge, the celebration of a council. 
His holiness wished it to be held at Vicenza, as had before 
been agreed on, but the republic of Venice objected. In 
1542 the pope sent Cardinal Morone to a diet convened at 
Spires, to propose for the intended synod three Italian cities, 
which are named ; but, if none of these were acceptable, he 
would consent to the choice of Trent, on the confines of Ger- 
many, and sufficiently near and convenient to the other 
powers concerned. The Protestants, however, were content 
neither with the place, nor with the assumption of the Roman 
pontiff, their worst and declared enemy, to convoke the 
assembly by his own authority. 

The pope, who was full of policies which were necessary to 
him, made no delay, but immediately published a bull of 
indiction for the meeting of the council at Trent on the 1st 
of November of the present year, 1542. The bull, which is 
prefixed to every edition of the Canons and Decrees of the 
Council of Trent, is dated May 22, and was forwarded to 
the Christian sovereigns ; and although war had recom- 
menced between the two principal, his holiness sent three 
cardinal legates to Trent on the 26th of August. The em- 
peror, not to be out-done in apparent desire of the council, 
sent his ambassadors there likewise. But in seven short 
months the pontiff recalled his legates, and terminated the 



L6 



INTRODUCTION, 



[1544. 



abortive assembly. The Bull of Suspension is dated July 
6, 1543 *. The subject was resumed, in the next year, in 
the Diet of Spires. 

Peace being restored between the emperor of Germany 
and the king of France, Charles and Francis, in 1544, the 
pontiff, without waiting to be solicited, and without leaving 
to either of the rival sovereigns the opportunity and honour 
of originating afresh a measure so magnificent and full of so 
much anticipated benefit to Christian Europe, immediately 
issued a new bull, summoning the meeting of the council at 
Trent on the 15th of March, 1544. He had no objection 
to begin, as other councils had done, with a few, especially 
as being Italians, and as then having it in their power to 
settle the form of future proceedings in the way which would 
please him ; and those who followed and joined them would 
feel themselves involuntarily or insensibly obliged to assent 
to regulations which they found already established. The 
emperor, who was playing the same game as the pontiff, and 
understood his opponent's tactics, immediately sent notice 
himself to the different princes, and gave orders to the pre- 
lates of Spain and the Netherlands, as likewise the theolo- 
gians of Louvain, to attend ; with the effect, if not the inten- 
tion, of appearing as real and principal promoter of the 
councilf . 

At the period at which we are now arrived in the present 
Memoirs, we begin to enjoy the assistance of the more valu- 
able and detailed portions of our proper authorities, in the 
Summarium of Massarelli and the Letters of the legates. We 
may, however, avail ourselves of the observations, with which 
the Venetian secretary J introduces this portion of the history 
of the council, at the beginning of his second book, where he 
professedly enters upon the subject. f The sect of Luther,' 
he writes, ( increasing in every direction, and a great part of 

* It may be seen in Le Plat's Coll. Monument. Tom. iii. 
f For the preceding hasty outline my main authority is Fra Paolo, end 
of the first and beginning of the second book. 
X Milledoni. 



1544.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



17 



' Germany and the neighbouring country, and more especially 

* England, being infected with this heresy, which bade fair 
' to prevail over the whole world, every state, province, and 
' city was desirous of a General Council, in order to put a stop 

* to such divisions in Christendom and avert the calamities 
f which they threatened.' Therefore Paul III took the 
course which history records, and fixed upon Trent as the 
locality of the great healing measure. The historian then 
gives a rather extensive account of the city, its fine churches, 
and its splendid cathedral dedicated to S. Vigilio, formerly 
bishop of that city, and martyred by the neighbouring inha- 
bitants; that likewise of St. Peter, where is deposited the 
body of the blessed child Simonetto, who was tormented to 
death by the Jews*. These observations may at the same 
time serve to show, that whatever just repugnance the Vene- 
tians might feel to the encroachment of papal tyranny, they 
yet hated reputed heresy, or Protestantism, with cordial ab- 
horrence. This remark applies to the Diarist likewise. 
These are therefore witnesses not favourable to the cause of 
reformed Christianity. Massarelli begins his summary by 
recording the bull issued by Paul III, revoking the suspen- 
sion of the council, dated the 19th of November, and pub- 
lished the last day of that month, appointing the meeting of 
the council for the fourth Sunday in Lent, or 15th March, 
1545 y. The historian proceeds to remark, that as his holi- 
ness, from the increasing infirmities of age, could not gratify 
his desire of being personally present at the council, he had 
appointed three legates to supply his place. Those legates 

* The church of S. Maria Maggiore is remarkable, in connexion with the 
subject of this work, as having a picture of the Council of Trent when sit- 
ting. See a work by Mariani, entitled, Trento con il Sacro Concilio et altri 
notabili, 4to., 1673. There is an engraving of the picture between pages 94 
and 95, of which an outline copy accompanies the present volume. Mr. 
Inglis, in the second volume of his Travels in the Tyrol, pp. 120-122, men- 
tions the original, as in a faded state, but still sufficiently distinct to exhibit 
the different costumes. It is said to contain portraits of the principal per 
sons who distinguished themselves at the council. 

f This bull is not in the Bullarium, but appears in its place in the iiid vol 
of Le Plat's Collect. Monument. 

C 



18 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



were cardinals of the three orders — Giammaria del Monte, 
Bishop of Palestrina; Marcello Cervini, Presbyter di Santa 
Croce ; Rinaldo Polo, or Reginald Pole, Deacon di S. Maria 
in Cosmedin. 

These legates, observes the Diarist, in rather warm lan- 
guage, were sent as angels of peace, with powers sufficiently 
ample in themselves, but omnipotent with the concurrence of 
the council. 

The legates having received the cross from his holiness on 
the 22d of February, the Cardinal di Santa Croce left the 
city on the 23d, the Cardinal del Monte on the 24th. Our 
countryman remained longer at Rome for good reasons. 
They made their formal entrance into Trent on the 13th of 
March, 1545, and were received with the highest honour and 
reverence by the cardinal bishop of the place. And this day 
furnishes the first date of the letters of these distinguished 
individuals. 

These letters are perhaps more original, and certainly 
more interesting authority, than the formal history of the 
secretary, although he enjoyed every personal advantage for 
the accuracy of his relation. The individual to whom they 
were addressed was the grandson of the pontiff, created 
by him cardinal deacon in the first year of his pontificate, 
and the first in the list of the first creation. Alessandro 
Farnese was then not more than fifteen years of age ; at the 
present time therefore not more than twenty-six. He was, 
however, a young man of ability and activity, and well fitted 
for the confidential station which he occupied. He was 
made vice-chancellor in 1582*. 

The first letter of the legates to the youthful cardinal, of 
the 13th of March, 1545, as just stated, begins with 
a devout acknowledgment of their arrival and public entry 
into Trent, as well as the cordial and affectionate reception 
which they met with from the cardinal bishop and lord of the 
place, Cristoforo Madruccio. They proceed to say, that as 

* See Vitse et Res Gestae Pontt. Rom. et Cardd. Ciaconii, &c, torn, iii., 
coll. 558, et seqq. Romse, 1677- 



1545.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



19 



it micht be considered an omission, if, after the benediction in 
the church, some indulgence, according to custom, were not 
pronounced, they had given one of seven years and as many 
quarantenes, with the hope that his holiness would accept 
and approve the act, as they humbly intreated him to do, for 
the discharge of their conscience and that of the people. 
They write thus because they were ignorant what faculty it 
would please his holiness to concede *. This rather curious 
case will recur and be noticed. The remainder of the letter 
is not eminently important. The writers express themselves 
anxious for instructions how to proceed in opening the' 
council, particularly if the diet (at Worms, then just about 
to assemble) should, against all laws human and divine, and 
the hitherto constant usage of the church, determine to treat 
upon religion, which would effectually nullify the authority 
of the council f. In the close of the letter they desire a 
secretary with a cipher, as contained in a memorial re- 
ferred to %. 

A letter of the 16th, recognized together with the first in 
that of the 18th, does not appear in either of the duplicates. 
In the present the legates mention the mission of Mignanello 
as nuncio to the king of the Romans, and their public visit, 
in company with the cardinal of Trent, to the cathedral, for 
the purpose of arranging places for the sessions, and they 
suppose it capable of accommodating four hundred persons 
or more. They add, that at the present no bishops had 
arrived but those di Feltro and della Cava. 

* et perche era giudicato male, se dopo la beneditione in chiesa non 

i'usse stata pronunciata qualche Indulgenza secondo il solito, ne havemo 
data sette anni et altretante quarantene sotto speranza che S. Sta. havra tutto 
per grato, et per ben fatto, come ne la supplichiamo humilmente per scarico 
delle consienze nostre et di questo popolo. Questo le diciamo perche non 
sappiamo la facolta che S. Sta. ci vorra concedere. 

f — venghi exautorizato. 

+ — — si mandi un segretario con la cifra come nel Memoriale, &c. An 
intentional and significant mark is placed after the word cifra, referring no 
doubt to some particular cipher agreed upon, which I should not have no- 
ticed but for its evident recurrence in the letter of the 23d of March. 

c 2 



20 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545 



Under the date of the 23d is noticed the arrival of Don 
Diego di Mendozza, the imperial ambassador, as in Massa- 
relli, and within half an hour that of Mignanello. Another 
letter of the 26th mentions the arrival of the Bishop of 
Bitonto, who, with the two already noticed, makes the three, 
to whom a reference will be found in the next letter ; where 
the legates write, that it might appear a dishonourable and 
inauspicious commencement to begin a work of so much mo- 
ment as a general council with only three bishops. Another 
cause for present delay was, that the church was more fully 
occupied with services of the season (being Lent), although 
opportunity might yet be provided. 

The letters which follow, as well as the preceding, contain 
particulars necessary to be attended to under the circum- 
stances, but such as are obvious, and related in the regular 
and professed histories of the council, (a character to which 
the present work does not pretend,) and withal abundantly 
tiresome. 

The letter of the 8th of April, among other things, con- 
tains four suggestions which it represents as worthy of some 
regard: — 1. That the emperor attributes to himself all the 
glory of having induced his holiness to take off the suspen- 
sion, and of soliciting him to celebrate the council, which, say 
the legates, we can testify not to be the fact ; 2. That with 
equal inaccuracy he affirms that he had induced the king of 
France to assent to the council; 3. That the same emperor 
has published, that the pope will send a legate to the diet 
declaring what he will contribute against the Turk ; 4. That 
his Caesarean majesty wishes to have such command of the 
future diet, that if the council does not proceed, he may be able 
to terrify the legates with the apprehension that the affairs of 
religion will be discussed and settled in that secular assembly. 
The legates therefore advise his Sanctity to be even with the 
emperor, and get in readiness his bishops, theologians, and 
jurists, with other learned men. Carrying on the date of the 
letter to the 18th, they represent themselves much per- 
plexed as to the time of opening the council, particularly with 



1545.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



2L 



reference to the approaching diet, in which the emperor 
threatened to transact religious affairs, and cast the whole 
blame upon them for delay after being warned. After much 
matter of an interesting character, their eminences declare it 
to be the conclusion at which they have arrived after long 
consideration and consultation, that it is expedient that a mass 
of the Holy Spirit should be sung before the diet commences, 
and that the first session of the council should be announced 
within a few days, in order to anticipate the recess. And 
then, whether the council proceeded, or was prorogued to a 
more favourable time, his holiness would be a gainer. This 
letter ends with a specimen of the coolness with which Rome 
transacts some of her most solemn impositions ; and the sub- 
ject is indulgences, to which it will be recollected we pro- 
mised to recall the attention of the reader. ' In the celebra- 
6 tion of a council,' say the writers, * it is customary to impart 

* a small indulgence, and we have no faculty so to do. If, 

* however, his holiness should resolve to begin it, it would be 

* well, that we should have a breve conveying this authority, 
f- and dated on the day of our departure from Rome, in 
' order that the indulgence which we gave of seven years and 

* as many quarantenes, at our entrance into this place, might 
' be made valid, as we then requested, without having re- 

* ceived any answer*.' 

The next letter of the same date, the latter I presume of 
the two, the 18th, to the pope, is curious, as illustrative of the 
insincerity of princes, or of the opinion which they mutually 
entertain of each other's sincerity ; and if, in such cases, we 
infer that individuals impute from their own consciousness, 
we shall not perhaps widely err. It is an epistle to his holi- 
ness himself, and with good reason ; for the writers begin by 
saying, that when they penned their former letter they sup- 
posed it possible that it might be inspected by others than 

* et con la data del di della nostra partita di Roma, accioche 1' In- 

dulgenza quale deramo di sette anni et altretante quarantene nella entrata 
nostra venga ad esser data valida, come allhora da noi ne fu supplicata, et 
non kavemo ancora hauta risposta. 



22 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



his holiness ; but in this strictly private communication they 
declare it as their conviction,, founded upon good proof, that 
the emperor, whatever might be his pretences, had secretly 
no wish for the opening of the council ; his only wish was to 
appear to wish it. 

Another letter of the 20th of April to the pontiff raises 
again the spectre of the interference of the diet in the cause 
of religion. 

In a letter to the Camerlengo, (for Farnese was at the diet 
of Worms with the emperor,) the legates write, that they had 
understood that, on the proposal of his majesty, the diet had 
concluded, that the affairs of religion should be remitted to the 
council. Being secure therefore from any risk, it appeared 
preferable not to add bitter to sweet by opening the council 
without the knowledge of his majesty ; but as the day 
of commencing was referred to their pleasure, to fix upon as 
early a one as should be deemed expedient. 

About this time, that is, the spring of 1545, Rome was 
attempting the suppression of heresy, or Lutheranism, in the 
method which she would always use, if able, that of force, in 
the south of France. Merindol and Cabrieres were infected 
places, and were denounced as such; in consequence of 
which an arret was issued against them in the parliament of 
Aix, at the instigation in particular of the bishop of that 
place and the archbishop of Aries. This happened in 1540 ; 
but the main effort of persecution was reserved for the year 
1545, when a brutal lord, Menier, led the troops of his 
abused sovereign against a harmless and religious commu- 
nity, and perpetrated the barbarities of violence of every 
atrocity, burning, slaughter, and desolation, for which public 
justice and shame called him to account. It was not for 
civil offences, not for religion mixed with others, not for reli- 
gion chiefly, but for religion singly and solely, that these real 
innocents were thus sacrificed by the church and principles 
of Roman Catholicism*. 

* Histoire Memorable de la Persecution & Saccageraent du peuple de Me- 
rindol & Cabrieres, & autres circonvoisons, appelez Vaudois. L'an 1596. 



1545.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



23 



Our proposed limits and the relative importance of the 
matter oblige us to pass over a number of the letters in the 
collection before us ; and we merely stop at the conclusion of 
the letter, dated May 16th, to notice the recognition by the 
legates of letters, which they had received from Mignanello, 
who was at Worms, in cipher, which, with the key and a 
summary of a certain answer of the Lutherans, they send to 
the Camerlengo, retaining a copy of it themselves. These pro- 
visions of secresy do not tell well for the integrity of the 
actors. One is involuntarily and almost irresistibly led to in- 
quire, can such arts be necessary in the preparations for 
assembling a Christian council to heal the real wounds of 
Christendom, and assert the purity of Christian doctrine ? 
Was it against such objects as these that the calumniated 
and already condemned disciples of Luther and the reforma- 
tion either felt repugnance or maintained opposition ? 

It should not be forgotten, of which our letters in detached 
portions remind us, and which regular histories relate, that 
a considerable number of the dignified and literate clergy and 
others were arriving at Trent, and preparing to take their 
place in the future assembly. Claims of precedence were 
likewise preferred, particularly by the imperial ambassador, 
and it was urged that bishops who were likewise princes, 
should take place before other bishops. We shall see in the 
sequel what contentions and ingenuity in evading or settling 
them were occasioned by this point of honour. 

A letter, with the date May 29, (which from its station is 
in all probability a mistake for 19, although it is the same in 
the duplicate,) to the Camerlengo, states, that certain proxies 
appeared before the legates, begging to represent their prin- 
cipal, the archbishop of Mentz, who was commended for his 
devotion to the apostolic see. They were graciously an- 
swered, that it was a case of difficulty, as his holiness had 
determined that no one should give his vote by proxy ; but 

8vo. Foxe has translated and adopted almost the whole. It is for substance 
confirmed by public letters of Henry II, which are subjoined, and is to be 
found jn all the histories of the time. 



24 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



that the matter should be considered. This application put 
the legates in a dilemma, which they thus express in the next 
letter to the same person. Through him they earnestly 
supplicate the determination of his holiness, whether the 
application should be admitted, since it appeared to them that 
great respect was due to his lordship, but more particularly 
on account of his being surrounded by Lutherans, who, 
besides their other perversities, opposed the council in every 
way ; and it would operate greatly in their favour if a prince 
of Mentz, and the first cardinal who had offered attendance, 
were excluded by them*. 

The letter of the 26th of May to the same is interesting 
as discovering the difficulty in which the managers of the 
proposed council were placed, as to opening, or not opening 
it. If it be opened against the will of the Christian princes, 
the prelates of their kingdoms being dependent upon them 
will not come ; and then the council will not in effect be 
ecumenic, nor their sentences received in the provinces 
which had no representative ; and thus, to heal one wound 
many would be made. Afterwards it would be difficult, 
when desirable, to close the council; for it might ever be 
prolonged under the pretence, that the bishops were com- 
ing, and likewise the heretics, who could not do so before : 
malignant instruments and plausible arguments never being 
wanting to princes ; and the protraction of the synod would 
be productive of both expected and unexpected dangers, 
without the hope of much benefit. On the other hand, 
to neglect the opening would scandalize and confound all 
Christendom, heresies would increase, souls be lost, obe- 
dience to the apostolic see diminished, and although all the 

* et gli ritornarebbe in gran' favore, se un par* del Maguntino ch' e 

stato il primo de' Cardinali a comparir' fosse da noi escluso. It may be re- 
marked here once for all, that the duplicates of these letters occasionally vary 
and correct each other in readings where the preference cannot be doubtful. 
Several instances occur in the next quotation. There is every mark of the 
two MSS having copied from the same original and variously representing 
an illegible or obscure word. The second, as we have placed them, seems to 
be the last written. 



1545.] INTRODUCTION. 25 

world would acquit his holiness of creating the obstacle, 
there would still be calumniators ; and when abuses were 
not removed, of which they trusted for a certain cure to the 
council, the truth would not be believed, and they would 
look to the hands rather than the mouth*. And then 
would come the difficulty of keeping the council in this 
state of suspense, whether to close, suspend, or transfer it, 
amidst the contending and varying interests and efforts of 
the principals concerned. In this perplexity, the legates 
throw themselves upon the prudence and prayers of his 
Sanctity, and the divine illumination which may be the 
result; but they quickly return to, and end with, their 
politics with reference to the dreaded German Diet, except 
that their closing words are, that they would cease, neither 
to pray to God to inspire his holiness, nor to execute what 
should be commanded them. 

Massarelli, under May 31, notices a congregation, at 
which were present eighteen prelates, whom he names ; 
and under the 3d of June he writes, that the legates, after 
vespers in the cathedral, and the dismissal of those who 
belonged not to the council, communicated the mind of the 
emperor respecting the opening of the council, the sum of 
which was, that it did not then appear a fit time for the 
opening, since the Lutherans continued obstinate in their 
resolution not to come to it. The Summary, in the portion 
preceding the actual opening of the council, is occupied 
chiefly with appearances of various individuals before the 
legates on different pretences, with the answers of the 
latter to them. Most of the applications were from bishops, 
to excuse their attendance, or obtain leave of absence. This 
leave being refused to some of the French prelates, one is 
noticed for taking it, without even saluting or acquainting 
the legates. 

There is a letter of the 7th of June to Cardinal Farnese, 
who had just left Trent, on the subject of admitting proxies, 



■guarderebbono piu alle maui che alia bocca. 



26 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



particularly from Germany. The legates write, that they 
had received instructions from Rome, that the matter would 
be taken into consideration, and that in the mean time the 
applicants for the privilege should be kindly treated. So 
they had done and would continue to do ; but the Germans, 
they add, are naturally so suspicious and apt to take offence, 
that with all the blandishments and dexterity which they 
could put in practice, they are afraid lest these foreigners 
should think themselves trifled with, and return home. 
The legates mention the opinion transmitted to them 
from Rome, that those only should be allowed to be proxies 
who have in themselves a right to a voice in the council : 
but they hesitate, because some of the bishops would pre- 
fer, as their substitutes, theologians to prelates ; and already, 
they say, Clocheo * is on his journey, and comes in the name 
of the bishop Sistetten f, with much zeal, and desire both 
of the public good, and of the advancement of religion. 
It may deserve consideration, they add, whether it be 
advisable to repel by the proposed regulation a man, who 
has so well deserved of the faith, by acts and writings in its 
defence against the assaults of heresy. 

Something like approach was making towards the council, 
when the letter of the 8th of June was written to Farnese. 
After noticing with due feeling the illness and recovery of 
one of their number, il Revmo. Santa (frequently desig- 
nated in this manner,) the legates observe, that in case the 
council should go forward, it would be necessary to have 
a BreviatorJ, and other officials; that, if the council, as 
other councils in similar cases, take cognizance of the 
Lutherans and England, it would be desirable that a pe- 
tition be drawn up by some able man in Rome, detailing 
the origin and impieties of the Lutheran sect, and the 

* This Hame, although so spelt in both copies, is, no doubt, the good 
friend of Luther, John Cochlaeus. 

f I can find no such place : from the variation in the two MSS I sus- 
pect it may be di Stettin. 

£ Or Abbreviator, a name sufliciently indicative of the office. 



1545.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



27 



flame kindled in Christendom, the outrages and atrocities 
of the king of England, as they wish the process, if pub- 
lished, to begin well; and they desire to know, in what 
terms the monitory should be couched, and whether names 
of the heads of heresy should be inserted, as Martin Luther, 
Melancthon, Bucer, the Landgrave, the duke of Saxony, 
the archbishop of Cologne *. They are anxious to make 
up for past tardiness by celerity in the progress ; and they 
notice the arrival of two Spanish theologians of the Domi- 
nican order. Provision for the more indigent bishops forms 
a regular subject of solicitude ; and the bishop of Chioggia, 
or Chiozza, in the Venetian territory, Naclantus, a name 
of some interest, was in such distress as to be relieved from 
the private purse of the legates. 

It seems, by a letter of the 15th of July, to have been 
anticipated that the Spaniards would not be remarkably 
accommodating ; for on the arrival of three doctors, it is 
reported as understood, that they came well prepared to 
defend their pragmatics, and to complain of infinite 
abuses. The pragmatics of the Spaniards seem to be 
rather troublesome to the legates; for they appear again 
under November 30. 

A letter of the 19th of July touches upon the delicate 
subject of transferring the council; and the legates, naturally 
enough, while they object to any place more within Ger- 
many, have no objection to one more within Italy. But 
they strongly affirm, that it is impossible for things to con- 
tinue in their present state, and that it will please no party for 
the council to remain still at anchor, dragging on its exist- 
ence from season to season, from spring to summer, from 
summer to autumn and winter, with infinite injury both to 
the public and to private interests. It is to be observed, that 
this letter is written in answer to one in cipher. It has, 
therefore, very consistently a postscript in cipher. There, 

* In a letter of the 31st of June, it is stated, as intelligence from 
Worms, that the not proceeding against the archbishop of Cologne was 
an occasion of much scandal — molto scandaloso. 



28 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



the writers, with evident warmth, declare that they shall 
never be weary of his holiness's service, unless they find 
themselves and him caught like birds in a net, when they 
thought they were free. Passing events were made use of 
to lull them into security ; and they feared that they should 
be so amused, that at last they would find themselves 
obliged, either to continue and burst with vexation where 
they were, or to remove into Germany. Eight bishops, four of 
them French, had arrived. They add, that, the longer they 
delayed, the greater would be the difficulty of disposing of the 
council without the consent of the council itself * ; and the 
emperor the more he has outreached his holiness, the less 
will he respect him. In conclusion, deprecating offence for 
their freedom, they say, that they always urged, and did 
still, that the whole settlement, from first to last, should 
proceed from the council, which might then be proposed 
without a blush ; since manifestly Germany would rather be 
injured than benefited by a contrary course. This was the 
point which roused them. Something must be deducted 
from the value of this remonstrance, in consideration of the 
monotony of vexation, which the legates would of necessity 
suffer in continuing so long, and with so much uncertainty, 
in a distant city, doing nothing. 

The letter of the 26th of July to the same cardinal, it should 
be supposed, although no person is mentioned, discovers 
strongly the perplexity to which the legates were reduced 
by their peculiar circumstances. To celebrate the council in 
concurrence with a German colloquy and diet, not knowing- 
what might be the result, or waiting for that result, and at the 
same time suspending the council, appeared equally dis- 
honourable and dangerous. They were surrounded by 
jealousies and solicitudes. The Spanish prelates related, 
that in their passage through France and Lombardy and 
everywhere, they found great and incredible infection of the 
pernicious Lutheran heresy, which continued extending and 

* Quanto piu indugiaremo tanto haveremo maggior fatica a disporre 
del concilio senza consensu di esso concilio, e 1' imperatore, &c. 



1545.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



29 



strengthening itself to such a point, that, unless a speedy 
remedy were applied, everything would instantly be lost; 
and they add, that those who were not infected yet vocife- 
rated for a council, although no one could believe or be per- 
suaded, that any would be celebrated. This threw a load 
on the conscience and honour of his holiness and his see, 
and would do so increasingly, as the impediments arose from 
others, who, by retiring, prevented any effectual reformation 
from being accomplished. How the scales might turn, the 
legates could not devise, especially since the demands of the 
emperor were such as to leave no option to his Sanctity, but 
to offend either him, or his own prelates. Such were the 
perplexities in which the crooked policies of the world en- 
gaged a church, which least of any could say, that it was 
not of this world ! The letter ends with congratulation for 
the communication, that, if the council were opened, it ought 
not to decline the cognizance of doctrine; but, after the 
example of other councils, should make it its first concern, 
and conform reformation to it. The reader will hereafter dis- 
cover, that it was the main point with Rome to establish 
doctrine precisely to such an effect as to crush heresy, that 
is, the supposed existing form of it at the time, the Luthe- 
ran ; and the main point of the emperor was, to let the 
former rest, and enforce reformation. But reformation was 
the great dread of the papacy ; and we shall trace the con- 
trivances and intrigues of that power to evade or avoid it. 
It appears that the subject is first explicitly started here. 

In a letter of the 4th of September, complaint is made of 
the dangers and confusions which the legates experienced 
from the incompatibility of the diet and the council. 

Dated the 19th of October, occurs a letter of some deci- 
sion. The legates give their opinion with freedom, that the 
translation of the council, being unacceptable to the emperor, 
would be highly injurious ; and to open and then suspend 
it, without effecting any reformation, would be equally ob- 
jectionable; to continue in the same state they regard as 
unworthy of his holiness and the council. So that, in 



30 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



failure of all worldly ways, they affirm that there is no other 
escape but by choosing the way of God, the only course 
which will dissipate all sinister imputations, and overcome 
all future difficulties. His holiness, therefore, should not be 
displeased with the emperor, but return instant answer, that, 
as the translation of the council was not agreeable to his 
majesty, he would celebrate the council effectually and 
without delay, proceeding, however, with due liberty and 
decorum. If the emperor acquiesce, nothing remains but 
to set about the work with spirit and cheerfulness, trusting 
to the event, which could not be otherwise than good, and 
adding all such precautions as human prudence suggests. 
If he object, the whole blame will lie upon him. The 
writers close with an apology for their freedom ; but in a 
case of such importance as that of effacing the impression, 
that his holiness was averse to the council, they would bear 
the blame rather of presumption than of taciturnity. The 
urgency of this remonstrance, however, rather confirms than 
dispels the suspicion ; and shows that they had no good, at 
least enduring, reason, to repel it as false and injurious, 
which, it may be remembered, they had formerly done*. 

On the 8th of November, the legates express the extreme 
pleasure, with which they were assured of the most holy and 
prudent resolution of his holiness to open the council; and 
they thanked God and their lord, that the same intelligence 
had been received by divers bishops who were anxious to 
have it confirmed by a sight of their letter, which each of 
them read with incredible demonstrations of joyf. 

* Adriani, in his Istoria de' suoi Tempi, a cotemporary and impartial 
writer, on this point writes, Ma il Papa temendo del successo ne andava 
prolungando quanto poteva 1' effecto : stimando che cio quando che siali 
potrebbe esser dannoso, essendo molte grande 1' autorita de' Prelati e de' 
Vescovi congregati insieme in tal nome. Lib. V. p. 170. Firenze, 1583. 

f It appears from the Diary, that when the pope had determined upon 
opening the council, he instituted in Rome a congregation of cardinals 
and courtiers to superintend and consult upon the affairs of the council ; and 
they ordained that the decrees should be made under the name of the Holy 
Tridentine Synod, the legates apostolical presiding, and that the votes should 
be given as in the last Lateran council, not by nations, as in those of Con- 



1545.] 



INTRODUCTION. 



3L 



On the last day of November, the legates write full of 
fears from some untoward events, and, therefore, the more 
rejoiced, that his holiness persisted in his good resolution. 
They accordingly suggest, in the way of necessary provi- 
sion, that a breve should be sent to them, conveying the 
commission to open the council. There should likewise be 
appointed the usual processions and fasts, and a command 
by bull to their Christian bishops to have a continued 
prayer in their churches for peace and the success of the 
council. Annoyed by the pragmatics of the Spanish doctors, 
three of whom were present, they wish for one or more ad- 
vocates as a check ; an abbreviator likewise, a secretary, and 
a sum of money. 

The legates, on the 2d of December, recognize the an- 
nouncement, that the third Sunday in Advent, then begun, 
should be the day of opening ; and repeat their application 
for the desired breve or letter, which should be sent express, 
in order to prevent the opening being published before the 
authority came ; and which is likewise desired to make their 
commission certain, as their most reverend correspondent 
had barely informed them in his communication of the 7th 
of last month, that his holiness, with the approbation of the 
sacred college, had appointed the third Sunday of Advent 
for the beginning of the council *. Upon so important a 
business they press a precise mandate. 

Anxiously expecting that mandate, they write on the 5th, 
that the Spaniards obtained news from Rome sooner than 
they; and that, to all appearance, these colleagues, to 
wiiom they seem to bear the most friendly feeling, were 
more astonished than pleased with the course which affairs 
were then taking. The suffragan of Mentz, and the cardi- 
nal of Trent begged leave of absence to attend the collo- 
quy, (then just begun,) at Ratisbon, and were courteously 

stance and Basil ; and the pope made a breve, that those who attended the 
council should be exempt from tenths and enjoy their incomes as usual. 

* col parere del collegio ha deputata la terza domenica dell' Avvento, 

nella quale si cominci il concilio. 



32 



INTRODUCTION. 



[1545. 



denied. They close with an expression of fear, that their 
instructions will not be in time, if the council is to open on 
the appointed day. The reader may observe, that here was 
another imperial assembly to molest the designs of the pon- 
tiff, his cause and council. 

The 12th of December was a very important day ; it was 
the day immediately preceding that, on which was appointed 
to meet a council, of the event of which at the time, the 
parties composing it, and to be affected by it, as well as the 
whole world, were perfectly ignorant, whatever were their 
respective designs, and whatever their expectations. That 
the great Controller, whose name and authority were dis- 
honoured by the claim made to them, and whose cause was 
little promoted by those who were under a necessity to act 
against it, was fulfilling by this means some great purpose of 
his Providence, partly apparent, and partly to reveal itself 
in future, is a fact which we recognize and contemplate with 
adoring and submissive gratitude. 

On this day, the legates of Trent write, that yesterday, the 
llth at the twenty-second hour and a half, (or three o'clock 
in the afternoon*,) were received the letters of Farnese, 
sent on the 7th, with breves f ; and immediately they ap- 
pointed the fasts and processions for the same day ; and 
they add, in the name of God, to-morrow we shall give a 
beginning to the council, and effect to the resolution of his 
holiness. Of the proceedings they will give account as they 
occur. They will assemble a congregation of prelates imme- 
diately, when the breve for opening the council will be read ; 
and consultation will be had of what is proper to be done in 
this first act. They specify in what manner they suppose 
the business will be conducted on the morrow, which, as it 
is agreeable enough to the fact, may very properly give 

* So it must be for 45° north lat., which includes Trent, according to the 
tables of Gavanti, Thes. Sac. Rit. end of 2d volume. I do not know how to 
understand Massarelli's calling the llth the 10th, and the 12th the llth of 
December, although he calls them Friday and Saturday, and properly num- 
bers the next day 13, calling it Sunday, as of course it was. 

t li brevi. 



1545] 



INTRODUCTION. 



33 



place to the relation from the same pen, when the supposi- 
tion became fact. 

All this was highly proper to be written : and the fact 
of the case invites the reflexion, that history is studied in 
a series of letters containing ii } far differently and in some 
respects more advantageously, than in a formal narrative 
written in times posterior to the events recorded ; although 
that method likewise has its advantages. It is exceedingly 
difficult, and indeed perfectly to do so impossible, to place 
ourselves in any precise point of time, where what is now 
past and certain, was future and uncertain, when what we 
now calmly read as matters of history, were objects of fears 
and wishes of every intensity, and of plans and conjectures 
covered with impenetrable obscurity ; except so far as the 
probabilities from the general connexion of cause and 
effect — the great guide of human duty, where no positive 
command of God is known — may cast a feeble ray into 
the region of darkness. This state of things and feelings 
is most perfectly realized by letters of the parties concerned ; 
and inferences may arise from the scenes and exhibitions, 
which they present, of some value to the reader, both in 
rectifying his judgement of others, and in regulating his 
own conduct. 



D 



34 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1545. 



Session I. 

OPENING OF THE COUNCIL UNDER PAUL III. 

On the 13th of December, 1545, the third Sunday in Ad- 
vent, the 12th year of the pontificate of Paul III, and the 
feast St. Lucia, the Council of Trent was opened, and 
held its first session. 

We cannot do better than present the letter written that 
very day by the legates, when the business was over. 

e At this third hour of the night it is our intention, that 
' the servants of Sig r . Don Diego should despatch a courier 
' to Rome ; and because the hour is late, and the greater 
' part of the day has been spent in ceremonies, we will only 
' inform your most Reverend Lordship, that to-day, in the 
f name of God, and to the honour and glory of our Lord *, 
' the council was opened, as will be particularly and fully 
e related in to-morrow's despatch. Trent.' 

The promise of this letter is amply fulfilled by the next 
on the day following. The legates inform their usual 
correspondent, that yesterday saw the commencement of 
the council, to the praise and glory of God, to the exaltation 
and increase of the Christian faith and religion, and to the 
perpetual honour of their Lord, (N. Sig re .) with solemn 
processions and the customary ceremonies. Agreeably to 
the general opinion, they proceed, his Blessedness may 
with great reason rejoice, and prefer this day, as felicitous 
above all others, for opening the way to the regular means 
of maintaining the authority of the apostolic see and 
the universal church, at the same time providing for the 
salvation of souls, and for satisfying the expectation and 
desire of the Christian world, in a greater degree than any 
of his predecessors had done. After the prayers and cere- 

* al nome di Dio, et honore e gloria di Nro Sig re . The pope 

is uniformly designated by this latter appellation. Did the legates con- 
sider that they were writing privately ? 



1545.] 



SESSION I. 



35 



monies of the day, was read by the legates, (in the cathe- 
dral, for there was the assembly,) the bull of the revocation 
of the suspension of the council, as well as that of the 
mandate, in their persons: and then, after deliberation, it 
was declared, that the council began on that day. Ac- 
cording to the wish of some prelates, the day after Epi- 
phany was fixed upon for the first session *. And as time was 
hastening off, and accidents mignt occur, the legates wished 
for more particular instructions — more especially with refer- 
ence to a note left by them at their departure from Rome 
— whether to begin with heresies, and whether generally 
or particularly ; when reformation is started, whether doc- 
trine should be united with it, or which should have the 
priority; and in case of its being proposed to begin with 
the court of Rome, what should they do ? since it is to be un- 
derstood that all the world is clamouring after this blessed 
reformation f — how the council should be announced to 
the sovereigns — what should be its form or seal — whether 
they should dissemble their knowledge of the colloquy and 
diet — with other points. But they add, in a postscript, 
their wish to be directed as to any proposal to proceed by 
nations, or any question respecting the power of the coun- 
cil, or that of the pope, or of the pope with reference to the 
council. They desire likewise to know the nature and ex- 
tent of their own presidency. They request, that the use 
of the breve of habilitation of German prelates may be 
in their hands, lest the Lutherans should take advantage 
of it by means of proxies, and that they may avail them- 
selves of it in favour of the well-disposed. There are some 
other points of minor importance. 

It may be observed, that the whole of this account ac- 
cords with the formal one in the summary of Massarelli. 
He writes that the revocation of the suspension was read 

* This will account for the way of numbering the sessions in the edi- 
tions published in Paris and in Antwerp, in 1546, where the I Id session, as 
now numbered, is called the 1st. 

f questa benedetta reformations 

D 2 



36 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1545. 



by the Bishop of Feltro, which is probably no contradiction 
to the assertion that both the bulls were read in the person 
of the presidents *. At all events it is an unimportant one. 
To the question of the presidents,, whether it pleased the 
assembled bishops to decree and declare, that the council 
should begin, and was begun, it was unanimously answered, 
Placet ; and to the question of the first future session being 
celebrated on the day after Epiphany, the same consent 
was given. The names of the members present are added ; 
and they appear to agree with those in Le Plat's edition of 
the eanons and decrees of the council, namely, — the three 
Presidents, four archbishops, twenty-two bishops, two am- 
bassadors, five generals of orders, with many secular and 
regular doctors. 



Session IT. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Mode of living, &c, in the Council. 

Massarelli writes, that on Friday, the 18th of December, 
was held the first General Congregation after the opening 
of the council. The first president, Cardinal del Monte, 
delivered an exhortation to the fathers, that they should 
prepare themselves, both internally and externally, for the 
due celebration of so important a work as the council. 
Then were read seventeen articles, in which the presidents 
propose both such things as are necessary, and such as 
should be discussed, for the proper conduct of the council. 

Most of these articles are indeed obvious. The first 
recommends, that, as to life and manners, they should study 
to render God propitious by prayers, fastings, alms, and 
other pious works. Another provides for the security of 
the place in coming, remaining, and returning. Another 

* in persona di noi Presidenti. 



1545] 



SESSION II. 



37 



suggests that it should be declared, what persons are to be 
admitted to give a consultative or deliberative voice, or 
both. Another directs, that the subjects to be treated of in 
the congregations and sessions should be previously ex- 
amined, and a determination made, how, and by whom they 
should be examined*. One near the end impresses the 
reverence which is due to their most holy Father and Lord, 
Paul, chief pontiff. The rest might be anticipated. 

In a letter of the 19th f nothing of particular importance 
occurs, except the answer which is reported by the writers 
to have been made to the proxies of the Cardinal of Augs- 
burg, where they observe, that it would be a bad example 
in the beginning of the council to allow them a decisive 
voice, but that they might be permitted to excuse, consult, 
and accept what was done in the council : and they sug- 
gest a letter from Rome approving their determination. 

On Tuesday, the 29th of December, was held a general 
congregation, in which were passed tw T o decrees, — the first 
respecting abbots and generals of orders, and their decisive 
voice in sessions ; the other for the election of three prelates 
to examine the titles and promotions of bishops, and of 
their order J, &c. 

The letter of the presidents, dated the last day of De- 
cember, refers to this congregation; and the question of a 
decisive voice in the sessions they suspect to be moved by 
the bishops, in order to prevent the privilege from descend- 
ing below their own order, and particularly to exclude the 
generals and abbots. The legates, how T ever, mean to evade 
any determination of the point ; and on the occasion strongly 
supported the authority of his holiness in the persons of 

* This was the origin of the controlling power so earnestly contended 
for by the legates, and against by a considerable party in the council, in 
consequence of which no subject could be introduced to discussion but such 
as they approved, the proposal lying with them. We shall see a deal of 
this. 

t It is most perversely marked 29 in both MSS — a date confuted by the 
very remainder of the date, and by the beginning of the letter. 
X Massarelli. 



38 COUNCIL OF TRENT. [1545. 

• 

individuals eminent for their theological learning, and so 
highly favoured by him as to be invited and deputed to the 
council by him. Their suggestions were assented to ; and 
it was ordained, that decrees should be composed in the 
first session, relating to their own duty to God and the 
reformation of themselves and families, and of the members 
of the council. 

The faithful servants of the pontiff write on the 5th of 
January 1546, that his authority, to which they are most 
devoted, cannot be supported in the council, without sup- 
plying the necessities of the indigent members, as well as 
of the officials. After a few paragraphs, they give their 
views of indulgences in a manner not devoid of simplicity 
and curiosity. c To the granting of indulgences,' they say, 
' we have always paid the greatest attention, both before and 
t after the opening of the council. All have been pro- 
< nounced by the authority of our Lord, as will be done in 
c future, when the breve shall come which confers the 
f faculty. We beseech his holiness to treat as ratified the 
f indulgences hitherto granted by us, in the masses per- 
e formed in our chapels, of three years and five quaran- 
' tenes, and of ten on Christmas day ; and certainly his 
' Beatitude should not, in our opinion, be backward in this, 
' since it satisfies the people and maintains his own au- 
' thority and reputation'*. The legates immediately after 
recognize a general congregation on the preceding day, 
in which it was decreed among other things noticed before, 
that what they call the second session, but since and still 
called the third, should be celebrated on the first Thursday 
after the purification-)-. They propose to begin with matters 

* Tutte sono state pronunciate per autorita di Nro Sig r % come anco 
si fara per I' avenire, venendo il breve, che ci ne dia facolta. Supplichiamo 

ben, che S. S. si degni haver rate le indulgenze concesse, &c e cer- 

tamente sua Beatitudine non deve al giuditio nostro essere scarsa in questo, 
perche se ne satisfa al popolo, e si mantiene 1' autorita, e riputatione sua. 

f This in the year 1546, the dominical letter being D, was the 4th of 
February. The reader will observe, that the sessions are here again rec- 
koned as if the opening were none. They are reckoned in the present way, 



1546.] 



SESSION II. 



39 



of faith, because they discover, that it is the intention of 
the greater part of the council to reverse the order, and 
begin with reformation, on the ground that heresies have 
arisen principally from deformation and transgression. 
Which, as they cannot assent to, so they cannot resist, if 
it should appear to the council that all the three heads for 
which their lord had assembled it, namely, heresy, refor- 
mation, and peace*, should be treated at one time, in order 
to promote despatch and other objects. After giving the 
subject their earnest attention for several hours, the three 
presidents had concluded, that if the measure should be 
persisted in as expedient for the reputation of Christianity, 
they would not, by opposing it, incur the imputation of 
being averse to reformation, and incorrigible. They would, 
however, insist, that the reformation should be universal, 
and apply to princes and profane persons j- as well as eccle- 
siastics. This method will prevent one party from rejoic- 
ing at the expense e of the other ; and if, ' they add, ' our 
' reformation is exclusively called for we shall have a right 
' to oppose, and show our teeth, since we have reason on 
' our side.' They wish to have speedy information on 
these points, because in the first congregation after the 
session, which would be the next day, they must neces- 
sarily come to something substantial^, preparatory affairs 
having been disposed of. They relate their determined 
opposition to the formidable words proposed and approved 
by almost all § — Ecclesiam universalem reprsesentans — 
adding, that their opposition was founded not only on the 

however, so early as the edition of the Acta at Milan, in 1548. Massa- 
relli records the congregation on the 4th of January, and observes, that 
some desired to add to the title of the council universalem Ecclesiam reprae- 
sentans — the reader will have enough of this in the sequel — but the greater 
part determined that it should not be added. 

* See the bull of indiction, May 22, 1542, given in all the editions of 
the canons, &c, towards the end, and repeated in the Bulla Revocatoria 
Suspensionis, copied by Le Plat in his Monum. about the middle of the bull. 

f Profani. 

\ Cosa sostantiale. 

§ quasi a tutti piacessero. 



40 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



intrinsic importance of the words, but likewise on their 
tendency to recall what followed in the decrees of the coun- 
cils of Constance and Basil. They had urged likewise, 
they write, that the words were inflated, and invidious, both 
to them and to the heretics * ; that they were virtually com- 
prehended in the title, Ecumenical ; and so they proceeded 
in the argument, f as each of us three was inspired, without 
f discovering the secret of our mind f .' A postscript follows, 
which announces, that a communication, likely to be more 
private than the preceding, accompanied this. It was pro- 
bably on a separate paper. 

On perusing the letter just detailed, the reader can 
scarcely avoid being struck by the concluding sentiment, 
which displays so strongly the satisfaction which an Italian, 
above almost any other mind, feels, in contemplating the 
success of a stratagem, so complete, that the agency of the 
mind which contrived it escapes without detection. 

The second session was to be on the morrow ; and on the 
7th of January it was celebrated. 

The manner in which Massarelli records this session at 
the commencement is remarkable. He calls it the second 
session, the opening of the council being computed as the 
first. The mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated and an 
oration delivered by the Bishop of St. Mark ; and the ex- 
hortation of the president was read, as the author expresses 
himself, (thereby announcing his authority, in a way not un- 
usual with Italian writers,) f by me, Angelo Massarelli, 
secretary of the council.' A bull was read prohibiting 
bishops to appear by proxies; likewise the breve, which 
commanded the council to be opened on the 13th of Decem- 
ber last. Lastly was read the decree of the session for the 
manner of living and other things to be observed in the 
council. The decree was approved by all, except some who, 

* ampullose et invidiosi — the concern for heretics on this occasion is 

worthy of remark. 

t secondo che ciascheduno di noi tre fu inspirato, senzae scoprire il 

segreto dell' animo nostro. 



1546.] 



SESSION II. 



41 



although they approved the decree, wished to have added 
to the title of the council, universalem Ecclesiam reprae- 
sentans. The next session was appointed for the 4th of 
February. The three legates presidents, four archbishops, 
twenty-eight bishops, two ambassadors, three abbots, five 
generals of orders, the proxy of the cardinal of Augsburg, 
and many barons, were present*. 

The letter written the day after by the presidents varies 
so little from the preceding account, that two things only 
deserve to be noticed in it. The first is, their attempt to 
soften the eagerness of those who urged the representing 
clause in such a manner, that the authority of the pontiff 
and the holy see should escape unhurt. The second is, the 
admission, that reformation was desired by all, and could 
not be deferred without scandal. 



Session III. 
PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 
Symbol of Faith. 

The general congregation which assembled on the 13th 
of January did nothing of importance. The principal act, 
besides routine business, was, to conclude, that the words 
Universalis et Oecumenica should be adopted instead of the 
representing clause. This is Massarelli's account. 

The two letters of the presidents, both written on the day 
following, give the same representation of the proceedings 
of the congregation ; adding, that their exertions respecting 
the title of the council were rewarded by the assent of two 
thirds of the members to their opinion. Then follows a 
representation which does not tell much in favour of the 
writers. Understanding that there existed a general desire 
to leave preparatories and come to substantials, we, they say, 

* I take the list from that in Le Plat's edition of the canons, &c. It 
very nearly, if not exactly, agrees with that of Massarelli. 



42 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



proposed to consideration the three heads contained in 
the bull, and that they should pray to God for his illumi- 
nation, and we, and each, would give his opinion at the 
next congregation. f We made this proposal/ they con- 
tinue, 'thus in general in order to appear to second the de- 
s sire manifested of entering upon substantiate, and to gain 
' time to receive an answer from his most reverend lord- 
'ship*.' If this is not arrant hypocrisy, it is a profane 
degradation of religion to the purposes of human policy and 
deceit. 

The first part of the next letter of the same date is occu- 
pied with a speculation about engaging the English king to 
join the papal interest and proscribe the books of Luther. 
But the latter part is important, where the legates recom- 
mend to the pope to send to the council ten or twelve pre- 
lates who may be trusted, and well qualified in other respects ; 
as the ultramontanes, and particularly Spain, were sending 
exemplary and learned men in considerable strength; and 
they ought to have an adequate counterbalance. They 
mention, that on the highest authority they were informed, 
that six or eight Lutherans were amongst them, whose 
names they decline stating since they were obtained through 
the medium of confession. They do not, however, believe 
the factf. They mention, that Dominico de Soto had ob- 
tained permission of the pope to have a definitive voice in 
the council, as his principal was unable personally to ap- 
pear. Their informant, the cardinal of Jaen, was asto- 
nished at it for the example's sake. 

* Questa proposta fu fatta da noi cosi in genere per mostrar' di secon- 
dar il dessiderio loro d' entrar nelle cose sostantiali, et metter nondimeno 
tempo in mezzo finche venisse la risposta da VS. E. ma . 

t The great and irrefragable author, as the writers call the informant, 
understood how to get over the difficulties of his profession. He says, che 
non pud dire il nome per haverlo in confessione ; ma che fara con gli effetti 
tutto quello che vorremo. So then, what he cannot do direct he can do 
through a medium. This is now the approved method of treating oppres- 
sive oaths : and with those who adopt true papal ethics, oaths are useless 
except to deceive. 



1546.] 



SESSION III. 



43 



Massarelli, in his relation of the general congregation of 
the 18th of January, states, that there was much contention 
in it, the fathers being divided into four parties — those who 
thought it best to begin with doctrines; those who pre- 
ferred beginning with reformation; while others were for 
making peace; and the fourth would unite doctrine and 
reformation. But nothing was concluded. It was likewise 
proposed by the cardinal of Trent, to write to the Luther- 
ans ; which was not done. 

The letter which follows, and is strangely dated the 29th, 
(although it uses the word yesterday, as designating the 
time of the congregation just described, with which the de- 
scription in the letter accurately agrees, and therefore de- 
termines the right date to the 19th,) purports, that the 
presidents, agreeably to the plan before stated, proposed 
the subject of the three heads, in order to discover the 
sentiments of the meeting, not only generally but particu- 
larly. There certainly was, as we might expect from the 
statement of the summary, a great variety of opinions., 
which are detailed with much particularity in the letter 
before us. The arguments of each party are ingenious, 
although rather obvious. Those who contended for the 
simultaneous consideration of the two main subjects appear to 
the greatest advantage. The French were disposed to con- 
sider the head of peace the most deserving of attention. 
There were not wanting those, who thought, that the Lu- 
therans should be invited in an amicable way : they might 
be gained ; and this would serve to justify the council. The 
legates say of themselves, that having listened to satiety, 
they concluded that, as the hour was late, the deliberation 
most weighty, and the opinions various, they would con- 
sider the subject, and in the next congregation, propose the 
points upon which the fathers should have to give their 
opinion. And here again they confess, whether in sim- 
plicity or not, that one of their objects was to gain more 
time for hearing from Rome. To prolong the council, they 
observe, when it might be abbreviated, is not for the service 



44 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



of the apostolic see. They close, by saying, that they had 
appointed two days in each week, Monday and Friday, and 
without further notice, as stated days for the general con- 
gregations; and this, to keep the prelates in exercise, to 
prevent voluntary meetings; and because, as the council 
proceeded, business would increase upon them. 

On the 22d of January a general congregation agreed, 
that doctrine and reformation should proceed simultaneously, 
and that the Christian sovereigns should be synodically ad- 
dressed to induce them to assist the council*. 

This congregation is adverted to in a letter of the same 
day. The presidents observe, that it is difficult to combat 
the reasonings of the advocates of s this blessed reformation, 
f desired by all without exception, and little trusted to.' 
One argument which they used against those who desired 
to treat of reformation singly or in preference was, the 
reported resolution of the emperor to continue the diet, 
upon the plea that, if the council made no progress, he 
might be justified in convoking a fresh diet for the purpose 
of settling both the doctrines and abuses of religion: the 
neglect, therefore, to treat of doctrines would be to canonize 
such assembly ; for it would be urged, that, the subject not 
admitting further delay, the course taken was rendered ne- 
cessary. This convinced the congregation, with one or two 
exceptions, that doctrine and reformation should be treated 
together, and proceed di pari; although a great and rich 
prelate, in a premeditated and read oration, earnestly con- 
tended for simple reformation, urging the present oppor- 
tunity, and exaggerating existing deformities, withal adding, 
that, unless their vessels were purified, the Holy Spirit would 
not inhabit them; and so the council would become a 
nullity. We, write the aroused legates, proposed an im- 
mediate and personal reformation of ourselves, the council 
and the rulers of it in particular. We commended the sug- 
gestion of so holy a resolution, because, beginning with our- 
selves, we might hope in time to reform the rest of the 

* Massarelli. 



1546] 



SESSION III. 



45 



world. We exhorted all, with efficacious words, to reduce 
the advice to practice, and effectually purify each of us our 
own vessels. Our proposal was commended by all, but not 
followed, many alleging, that, since the reformation should 
be universal, it was unnecessary to waste time in this par- 
ticularity. In this manner we repelled the suspicion, that 
we were unfriendly to reformation ; and the effect was emi- 
nently successful in advancing the honour and estimation 
of our Lord, and the apostolic see *. — Without at all in- 
tending to impeach the sincerity of the legates, the challenge 
was certainly, and might be known to be, a very safe one. 
The scene described is, in all views of it, singular; and dis- 
covers, with what confidence may be acted upon the assump- 
tion, that human nature, in its passion for reform* is more 
anxious to apply the benefit extraneously, whether to person 
or thing, than to itself. 

In a congregation of the 26th of January, it was proposed, 
among other methods of discussion, that the whole council 
should be divided into three classes, to be assembled before 
any one of the presidents, and to discuss familiarly, whether 
in the Latin or native language ; the result to be referred to 
the particular congregations, and to be established in a 
general one. Hence all would take their share in the pro- 
ceedings of the council. 

Another general congregation took place on the 29th of 
January, in which the letters to be sent to the sovereigns 
were read; and it was deliberated, without being settled, 
whether the letters of the king of France or of the king of 
the Romans were to be read first in the sessions. The 
classes were to be chosen by the legates f. 

The letter of the 1st of February intimates some dissatis- 

* After this letter there is a chasm to the 2d of March, in the first 
volume of the Epistolary collection ; and the second, or duplicate, closes 
this course finally. The third collection, which begins from February 1, 
1546, will be our exclusive epistolary guide, till it rejoins the first at the 
2d of March. 

f It will be understood, once for all, that these historic details are from 
the Summarium of Massarelli, except where the contrary is expressed. 



46 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



faction expressed by his holiness,, in consequence of which 
the general congregation standing for that day was post- 
poned ; and after a long consultation among themselves as 
to holding a session without making a decree, they had 
determined upon a mean, which was, to intimate simply, 
that, since many prelates were expected, they would abstain 
from making decrees until another session, which would be 
announced. They trust, that, when his holiness considers 
the difficulties of their situation, he will be satisfied with 
what they have hitherto done, notwithstanding the calum- 
nies of one of those prelates, who would exalt themselves at 
the expense of others. 

On the 2d of February the classes met for the first time ; 
and it was there discussed, whether the promulgation of a 
decree should be abstained from, and whether the following 
session should be announced or not in the next session ; and 
after much dispute the questions were remitted to the 
general congregation. 

There is a letter of the same date, which recognizes with 
increasing distinctness a party in the council who may be 
called reformers*, such as insisted upon commencing with 
reformation alone. They, however, were persuaded, that 
doctrines should not be thrown behind, but, since the synod 
wished it, should be joined with reformation. Nor could 
this wish be well resisted, as the two points were united in 
his holiness's bull. They could not therefore propose to 
begin precisely with doctrines, from the prospect of manifest 
danger, and accordingly contented themselves with propos- 
ing generally instead of particularly ; in order, according to 
his holiness's direction, to discover parties and to avoid com- 
promising themselves. They represent themselves in great 
difficulty from not receiving an answer which they expected 
from his holiness ; and this, they say, while it obliged them 
to resort to procrastination, brought upon them the hazard 
of a formidable defection. They close the letter with eight 

* This appellation wanders over every kind and degree of bad or good, 
according to the subject, and the means which are employed. 



1546.] 



SESSION III. 



47 



reasons for the conduct, which, under these disadvantages, 
they had pursued. 

A general congregation was held on the 3d of Febru- 
ary, in which it was concluded, that, on the session of 
the morrow, two decrees should be published, the one 
containing the symbol of faith, the other the determi- 
nation relative to the absent prelates : the day of the future 
session was likewise to be fixed for the Thursday after the 
fourth Sunday in Lent, the 8th of April. Some wished a 
decree to be published respecting the mode of proceeding 
in the synod, from doctrine and reformation together and 
for once*: this, however, was negatived by the majority. 
There were other points determined of less importance. 

On Thursday, the 4th of February, was celebrated the 
third session of the council. The usual church service was 
performed, and an oration delivered by Ambrosio Caterino. 
After a short and the usual introduction, representing the 
Creed, the Nicene, as the foundation of Christian faith and 
the defence against heresy, that creed was repeated, as the 
first decree; and the next expressed the expectation of a 
fuller attendance of bishops at the next session, which was 
fixed as above stated. The members present differed only 
from the former number in the addition of the two cardi- 
nals, of Trent and of Jaen, who were not legates, and two 
bishops. 

The two preceding sessions and this were plainly only 
preparatory, although proper and in the main unexception- 
able. The fourth will introduce something substantial and 
not quite so innocent. 

There is so little more than a recognition of the slight 
business of this session in the letter of the legates of the 
same day, that the more extended attention to that not un- 
important letter shall be reserved for the next division of 
the work. 

* simul et semel. 



48 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



Session IV. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Canonical Scriptures. 

The letter of the presidents, written on the very day of the 
last, the third session, assumes somewhat of a new style and 
increasing importance, as then, what are justly called sub- 
stantial, were in immediate view, and must be fairly en- 
countered. The letter expresses great anguish in the writers 
at the displeasure of the pope, on account of their compro- 
mising concession relative to reformation. They had suc- 
ceeded, however, in the last congregation in having the 
subject deferred. This produced an insinuation, that Rome 
was averse to reformation, which the legates endeavoured 
to repel by assurances of the good will of his holiness on 
that point, who, they were informed, had begun the reform 
in his own person *. They had satisfied the complainants 
respecting the delay in determining the title of the council, 
by promising, that an important decree would be passed on 
the subject. They endeavour to calm the apprehensions of 
his holiness on the subject of reformation by a particular 
interpretation of the term, as applying, not simply to the 
court of Rome, c but to all Christendom, to all prelates, 
e priests, monks, and seculars, both ecclesiastic and secular 
' princes — a subject so large, that it cannot be despatched 
c quickly, although it should be entered upon instantly, 
< especially as doctrines must always have the first place ; 
( and if, in the course of discussion, the court should be 
' touched, they would not fail to make the council sensible, 
' that it had something else to do than to remind his 
' holiness of what it deemed expedient for him.' If his 
holiness wishes matters to go on in their present course, 
they suggest, that a breve, or letter, should be sent, which 

* del reformar la persona sua propria. The legates do not, in all 

probability, mean to be understood too literally — they refer to the household, 
and immediate dependants of the court. 



1546.] 



SESSION IV. 



49 



may be shewn, (mostrabile,) because the private communi- 
cations, (avisi particolari,) which came from Rome, had 
occasioned, and continued to occasion, great suspicion among 
all the bishops, as if it were attempted by means of the 
council to mock the world. At this early period it appears, 
that the legates thought of beginning the doctrinal labours 
of the assembly with the doctrine of Original Sin. 

The next letter of the 5th of February does but repeat 
what has appeared before, that the object of the emperor 
was, not doctrine and a process against heretics, but refor- 
mation of abuses, from which the heresy, such as it was, 
proceeded. The remedy to this evil, the legates say, is, to 
insist upon the junction of the two objects, the not ad- 
hering to which will give them a good pretence to break up 
and go home ; while the cause of the rupture will not be 
imputable to them, nor can the dreaded injunction be ap- 
plied to them, c attend to reformation alone.' 

The letter of the 7th acquaints their Roman correspond- 
ent, that at the ordinary congregation of the morrow, the 8th, 
they mean to propose, that, previously to entering into the 
heart of doctrines, they should establish the books of scrip- 
ture, both of the old and new testament, as the necessary 
foundations, upon which should be built the other con- 
clusions, the more controverted and insolvable ; inasmuch 
as this very head may be said to be controverted, not only 
by heretics, but by themselves. This will be a useful pro- 
cedure, as it will directly introduce Tradition. The dis- 
cussion will give time to receive the suggestions of his 
holiness respecting reformation, and the manner in which 
he would have it treated. For this valuable purpose the 
particular and general congregations may be kept in due 
occupation ; and if the aversion of Rome to reformation be 
charged, the charge may be parried by observing, that 
although it may have place against some few courtiers, his 
holiness is clear. 

The first substantial matter was now fairly launched. 
The scriptures, whether with or without tradition, were both 

E 



50 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



a doctrine and the foundation of all the doctrine, which the 
Christian church should hold or teach. Accordingly, in a 
general congregation, celebrated the day following that on 
which the epistle just represented was written, after an 
apology from the presidents, that the contested addition to 
the title of the council was for the present postponed, it was 
concluded, that before all things the canonical books of the 
sacred scripture should be received, as the foundation of 
all that was to be decided in the sacred synod. And on 
the 11th of February was a meeting of the classes, where 
the question was proposed, whether the scriptures should 
be received absolutely, or with any discussion of the reasons 
for or against the admission of particular books. The 
opinions were various, and the subject was referred to the 
general congregation. 

A letter was written by the legates on this very day. 
They say, that they had been engaged in the particular 
congregations (or classes) until night, and the next day 
was a general one. They repeat the altercations which took 
place on the subject of the scriptures, which were, in parts, 
impugned both by heretics and members of the Roman 
church, particularly by Cardinal Caetano, who has left it in 
writing as his opinion that the epistle to the Hebrews was 
not written by the apostle Paul. The general congregation 
would take place on the morrow, when tradition would be 
introduced, which would be followed by purifying the doc- 
trine relative to the scriptures from its abuses — by deter- 
mining, namely, that the scriptures should not be inter- 
preted by private opinion ; that preaching should be in 
conformity with the sense of the church ; and that the sorti 
dell' Epifania* should be abolished. The utility of the 

* What these sorti dell' Epifania exactly may be, I cannot discover. 
Perhaps the best explanation is to be found in Hospiniani de Festis Christi- 
anorum, Genev. 1674, pp. 42, et seqq. sub voce Epiphania, or the 6th of 
January, and in the verses of Naogeorgus which he quotes from the ivth 
book of his Regnum Papisticum, which may be considered as a Fasti Pa- 
pales. The twelfth cake is there very graphically celebrated ; and there 
are certainly now, as then were, lots connected with it. I had looked into 



1546] 



SESSION IV. 



51 



particular congregations, or classes, as they are called, they 
affirm to be great, because a multitude can more easily be 
governed when divided; likewise on account of the order 
observed in making the division ; and lastly, because there 
is more independence as to the authority of others. The 
legates point out, with apparent self-gratulation, that they 
had thus begun to act upon the principle of treating the 
doctrine first, and then the abuse connected with, or flow- 
ing from it. Which method, they add, if it can be con- 
tinued, will produce without noise the effect which is desired *, 
and his holiness need not fear for himself. The suspected 
faith of P. P. Vergerio is here alluded to, probably for the 
first time. 

The general congregation referred to, which met on the 

Hospiniani's book, but the passage would have escaped me had it not been 
pointed out afterwards by a friend. To another friend I am indebted for 
an extract from Charpentier's Supplement to Ducange's Glossarium 
under the word Montina, which seems to have relation to the subject, as 
the reference is from the word Epiphania. Montina: vulgo Montine. 
Ludi genus. Lit. remiss, an. 1450, in Reg. 182. Chartoph. Reg. ch. 74. 
6 En la ville d'Arras les jeunes compaignons enfans de bourgois de la dite 
ville et autres, ont accoustume de leur assembler et aler la veille de la fesie 
des Roys es hostelz de leur voisins des dits bourgois et autres gens d'icelle 
ville, et porter par esbatement et juge de la solempnite de ladite feste 
aucuns petits joyaulx, dons ou presens a son de menestrez ou autres joyeulx 
instrumens, et jouer en l'ostel du bourgois ou autre ou ilz entrent, a ung 
jeu nomme Montine ; et se iceulx compaignons perdent audit jeu aux gens 
dudit hostel ou ilz entrent, on les chasse dehors par esbatement, sans leur 
donner a boire ; et se ilz gagnent. on leur donne a boire et ont l'onneur. 
Ex quibus videtur fuisse ludicrce sortionis species, vulgo Loterie, cui ludere qui 
proponebant, si ludebant ad versa fortuna, eo fere mo do habebantur quo 
apud nos olim crustularii, Gall. Oublieux. Oublieux or Oublieurs are the 
men who cry wafers through the streets in French towns. I should have 
been glad to find a more direct reference to scripture in this, although 
there is plainly some to scripture history — something like the Sortes Sanc- 
torum, which would be quite to the purpose, if in any instance they were 
particularly connected with the Epiphany. But perhaps the superstition 
was an Italian local one. I am rather surprised, that Thiers has nothing 
about it in his Traite* des Superstitions, though it is professedly confined to 
the sacraments. 

* co'l qual modo potendosi seguire si verra a fare senza strepito 

1' effetto che si cerca. , 

e2 



52 



COUNCTL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



12th, agreed, that the sacred books should be received 
simply, and enumerated as in the Florentine council. 

In the continuation of the preceding epistle to the 12th, 
the day of the congregation, the legates advert to that meet- 
ing, with which as represented above their account perfectly 
agrees; and they add particularly, that the congregation 
declined any opinion, whether for the sake of the infirm in 
the church it might not be advisable to distinguish the de- 
grees of authority in the books of the old testament, as some 
holy doctors had done, calling one portion canonical,, and 
the other hagiographic only. There follows a letter of the 
11th, kept to the 12th, in the first person singular. And 
here it may be observed, that in the joint letters, as they 
would naturally be written by one individual, that individual 
frequently inserts what is personal to himself with the 
mention of his name. Which of the three legates is the 
writer of the present letter does not appear ; but it is quite 
a familiar one, for which the writer somewhat apologizes ; 
and it is likewise a sensible one. He congratulates himself 
and his colleagues, that although business would now accu- 
mulate upon them, there would be less confusion and dis- 
order, when their conclusions, instead of wandering at large 
over an extensive surface of undefined and varying opinion, 
as they had done before, would become henceforth necessary 
deductions from fixed premises or principles. He supposes, 
that by collecting together the controverted points of religion, 
the larger portion of them will be found to have been already 
settled, and those that are strictly new he presumes to be 
few in number ; so that — it is useful to observe the cloud, 
and generally the delusion, under which every generation is 
kept at every successive moment of the present, with respect 
to the future — so that, if the legates wish, the council may 
terminate far more speedily than is commonly expected. 
It is true, that wars were considered possible as an impedi- 
ment. And, although this was no very hazardous suggestion, 
it was certainly and abundantly verified. But from what- 
ever cause, this council, the period of which was thus an- 



!546.] 



SESSION IV. 



53 



ticipated before it had well begun, continued its existence, 
with intervals, for eighteen years. 

There was a general congregation on the 15th of Fe- 
bruary, the results of which are sufficiently for their import- 
ance given in the succeeding letter. And indeed the real 
argument upon the subject keeps so progressively contract- 
ing, that we shall endeavour to avoid repetition when any 
characteristic incident is not thereby sacrificed. 

In a letter of the day after, or the 16th, (as from internal 
evidence it must be, although written 18 in the manuscript,) 
the legates, giving an account of yesterday's congregation, 
state the grounds taken by the opponents on the question 
of the parity of authority in the whole of the scriptures, and 
the expediency of detailing the arguments for and against the 
controverted books. Those who were in favour of publish- 
ing their arguments urged the good opinion, which such a 
course would create in the world, of the care and circum- 
spection with which every thing was conducted in the coun- 
cil; while the opposite party argued, that as the reasons 
alleged, although favourable, could not in their nature be 
demonstrative, it would give occasion to the ill-disposed to 
impugn, and thus impair, the authority of the decree which 
should be made. 

In one letter of the 18th is just mentioned a particular 
congregation, or class meeting, as Massarelli reports it, in 
which the proposed subject was, apostolic tradition, and the 
abuses connected with the scriptures. In another of the 
same date, nothing is so remarkable as the fear, which 
haunts the papal agents, of reformation being made to take 
precedence of doctrine. 

We are now introduced to a new set of actors on the 
conciliar stage — theologians extra concilium. Their first 
congregation was held on the 20th of February; and the 
presidents proposed the questions, what were the canonical 
scriptures, and whether they were to be received simply or 
with discussion ; and likewise whether the apostolic tra- 
ditions were to be received jointly with the scriptures or 



54 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



separately. All approved the reception of the scriptures 
and the enumeration of the books : many had no objection 
to the discussion of reasons : all were in favour of uniting - 
the apostolic traditions with the scriptures. 

The letter of the 21st of February, assuming as established 
the three foundations or principles of — the creed, scripture, 
and tradition — represents the ensuing articles for considera- 
tion, as, ecclesiastic traditions and canons of the holy councils, 
to which will succeed doctrines — namely, the Trinity; the 
creation of our first parent; the fall; original sin; and then 
the reparation and justification of men, and so forth. But 
these doctrines not having many abuses attached to them, it 
would be necessary to come to reformation without great 
delay. The most original and interesting part of the letter, 
however, will be that, probably, in which an account is given 
of the origin of the theological congregations, which have just 
appeared for the first time. f Finding here,' say the legates^ 
( a good number of theologians, of every order, and of divers 
( nations, we have frequently thought, in order that they 
e might not be unemployed, and to avail ourselves of their 
e industry and counsel, to admit them into the particular con- 
' gregations. But this we found to be so odious to the 
( bishops, that we altered our plan, and determined to as- 
' semble them by themselves in our presence, which was 
e done this day for the first time, to our mutual satisfaction ; 
c and so peace and content were secured.' 

It being agreed upon in a general congregation of the 26th 
of February, that a decree should be drawn up uniting the 
sacred books and the apostolic traditions, six prelates were 
appointed for that purpose. 

The first of the letters on the 27th represents the majority 
as secretly inclined to put a speedy termination to the council. 
The second of the same date, of which the penman by the 
letter itself appears to be the second president, the cardinal 
della Croce, recognized the appointment of the six deputies, 
two under each of the presidents. The letter states, that the 
only bishops who opposed the union of doctrine and refor- 



1546.] 



SESSION IV. 



55 



mation, were three, the first, of Fiesole, whose meaning could 
not be discovered ; the second, of Astorga, who was disgusted 
with such things,, as being trifles, and wished to come to the 
reformation of men, not of the scriptures; and the third, of 
Chioggia, or Chiozza, better known by his Latin title, 
Naclantus episc. Clodiensis, who insinuated, that traditions 
were superfluous, and that all which was necessary to salva- 
tion was written, and even alleging for this purpose St. 
Augustine on the sixth chapter of St. John — simply, adds 
our legate, because he was ignorant, that many circum- 
stances in the sacraments are derived only from tradition. 
He contended likewise, respecting the scripture, that the 
council ought not to adopt the enumeration of Eugenius IV 
in the council of Florence, which error it gives the legate no 
little trouble to rectify*. 

The attention of the succeeding congregations was occu- 
pied by abuses of the scriptures. 

That of the 1st of March is noticed in a letter of the next 
day. There was another of the 6th of the theologians to 
discuss with the abuses the remedies. A letter of the same 
date refers to the case of Vergerio, and his summons to Rome 
to defend himself against accusations respecting the faith. 

On the 7th of March was penned a letter, from which we 
learn the opinion of a great portion of the assembled prelates 
on a subject w T hich soon began to create agitation. Those 
prelates were known to promise themselves from the council, 
at least the free and entire execution of their office in the 
cure of the souls of their subjects, as a most equitable claim, 
which appears to consist in these principal points, the colla- 
tion of benefices with cure, ordination of clerks, preaching 
and confession, and every thing else included in the cure of 

* It is mortifying to recollect, that this bishop enjoys the unenviable dis- 
tinction of being adduced, in the third part of the Homily on Idolatry, as the 
single and most notorious asserter of the idolatrous worship of images in the 
grossest sense. The passage is in his collected works, torn, i., p. 204, fol. Ve- 
netiis, 1567- Queen Elizabeth's, or the second book of, Homilies, appeared 
first in 1563: the Commentaries upon the Epistle to Romans, therefore, 
where it is found, must have been published before. 



56 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



souls. There were added, indulgences for the building of 
St. Peter's, and crusades. It is well known — to interrupt the 
contents of the letter — to what a height at that time the en- 
croachments of the monastic institutions upon the episcopal 
province had gradually risen, favoured as they were by the 
pontiffs from the reign of Gregory VII, whose policy it was 
to reduce the power of the prelates by establishing a counter- 
acting power, and one entirely dependent upon him, in the 
very seat of their authority. And at this time the episcopal 
order felt, and heavily, but with justice, complained of the 
invasion of their jurisdiction and the privileges of their office 
by these devoted and willing servants of the pontifical see. 
The legates proceed to say, that in the court of Rome there 
are two points of general scandal, and causes of the diminu- 
tion of its credit, its avarice and its pomp, to remedy which 
effectually it would be necessary to reform the penitentiary*, 
the chamberlainship, the rota, and, what would constitute 
the principal reform, to confer churches on those only who 
were able and willing to perform their duties personally and 
not by mercenaries. This, they presume, would content all, 
and not diminish the authority of the apostolic see. 

On the 8th and 9th of March the theologians entered 
upon the new subject of translating and printing the scrip- 
ture in the vernacular tongue f. 

We have a letter of the latter date, where the legates say, 
they had communicated to the generals of orders present the 
will of his holiness and their own intended provisions, ge- 
nerally, that no one should preach in any diocese without 
licence of the ordinary. As to the danger of agitating the 
question of the authority of the pope and the council, they 
see none, unless his holiness should refuse to concur with the 
council in the project of reformation; for in the council all 
reverence was demonstrated towards his holiness, as the head 

* The reader should watch this department, the origin of the infamous 
Taxae which it issued, and of which monuments enough remain to humble 
Rome, if any thing could humble her, in the dust. 

f This is distinctly asserted by Massarelli. 



1 546] 



SESSION IV. 



57 



of the body, so that to move the question would be to sepa- 
rate the head from the body. And should even the point 
be gained of adding the representing clause to the title of the 
council, it would be necessary to explain in what manner the 
representation exists, that is, by means of its head and not 
without; whence would result more gain than loss*. They 
deprecate the censure of dwelling too long upon the scrip- 
tures and tradition, by observing, as before, the difference of 
opinion upon the subject, not only among the heretics, but 
(what is worsef ) among some of themselves ; and the tradi- 
tions were attacked in such a way as to threaten their annihi- 
lation, scripture being represented as the only thing neces- 
sary to salvation^. So that, as being two main principles, or 
foundations, it could not be imputed to them that too much 
time was bestowed upon them — they wished to avoid the ex- 
tremes of precipitation and tardiness. The two meetings 
above are referred to, but without allusion to the delicate 
subject of vernacular translation. 

The general congregation of the 17th of March, although 
as drily given as might be expected from a mere summarist, 
is important for its matter. Four abuses were considered — - 
1. The various editions of the Bible, to which the remedy 
was, to receive the vulgate only as authentic. 2. The errors 
of the copies of the vulgate, the remedy, that one should be 
amended. 3. Private interpretation of scripture, the remedy, 
that it should not be allowed. 4. Printing without licence of 
ecclesiastic superiors, the remedy, that that should not be 
allowed. A dispute, we are likewise authoritatively informed, 
arose between the two cardinals, not legates, Madruccio, 
bishop of Trent, and Pacecco, bishop of Jaen, on the subject 
of vernacular versions, when the first took the affirmative, 

* cioe mediante il suo capo e non senza, onde piu, &c. 

f ch' e peggio. 

% This is a protestant, or really catholic, sentiment, attested by unim- 
peachable authority as delivered in the council of Trent. This principle with 
its legitimate consequences is all that the heretics, (so called by the real ones,) 
ever desired, or required. 



58 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



and the latter the negative side*. It might have been 
deemed inauspicious, that at Trent, the ordinary and a prince 
of the place, as well as a cardinal, should advocate the very 
practice, upon which the difference between the Roman and 
opponent churches practically turns. But point by point 
we might almost establish the entire of protestantism by the 
opinions publicly delivered by eminent Roman catholics at 
the council of Trent. 

The first letter of the 17th relates the confinement and 
torment of the Cardinal del Monte by a violent fit of the gout 
both in his feet and hands, with which we duly sympathize ; 
and the second letter of the same date repeats the horror, 
which the cardinal of Jaen felt, of translations of the scrip- 
tures into the vulgar tongue, which had been done even by 
catholics with much temerityy ; and, on the other side, the 
approbation of the measure by the cardinal of Trent, who 
thought that if the council prohibited the thing it would 
generate much scandal, particularly in Germany^. 

We participate even at this time in the offence taken by 
the sober minded, at the Venetian bishops and abbots taking 
part in the justs performed in the place ; and are arrested 
by the letter of the 20th only to notice the manner in which 
the legates report the news of the death of Luther, for which 
indeed they are not responsible, (for they only repeat,) and 
which was printed in German with all the circumstances and 
particulars. The amount is, if the intelligence be true, that,, 
drinking and jesting to the last, he died at 3 o'clock of the 
morning of the 1 8th of February §. 

* Oritur disputatio inter RR. DD. Cardinales Tridentinum et Gien- 
nensem circa sacram scripturam in lingua vernacula imprimendam, Triden- 
tino affirmativam, Giennense negativam, defendentibus. Massarelli. 

f ■ trovandosi molti Cattolici che hanno interpretato da qualch' anno 

in qua il testamento vecchio, et il nuovo con poca avertenza, e molta temerita. 

% s' il sacro Concilio prohibisse tal cosa generaria un grandissimo 

scandalo, massime in Germania, &c. 

§ E' venuta di Germania la morte di Martino Lutero stampata in Tedesco 
con tutti gl' accidenti, e particulari : la somma e, quando la nuova sia vera-, 
che egli bevendo, e burlando fin' all' ultimo mori, &c. The reader will natu- 
rally suppose, that it is utterly superfluous to prove, that the death of Luther 



1546.] 



SESSION IV. 



59 



We know enough of Vergerio without the information of 
our legates; and their letter of the 30th contains nothing 
observable bat the suggestion, that provision should be made 
in Flanders for the absolution of such heretics as were de- 
sirous of re-entering into the bosom of the church — so the 
merciless church of Rome represents the case of those, who 
have been terrified or conquered by her cruelties to violate 
their conscience and verbally assent to a superstition which 
they despised and loathed. 

On the 3d of April a general congregation agreed, that no 
mention should be made of a vernacular translation in the 
decree for the impending session. This is proof enough, 
what the Italian church could, or would, bear. 

The letter of the 5th contains matter not only curiously 
personal, but indicative of the spirit, if not of the council, of 
its governors. The poor bishop of Chioggia (his literal 
poverty it seems made him an object of ridicule) uttered 
many extravagant things. When, after a long time, it came 
to his turn to deliver his sentiments on the clause respecting 

was not exactly such as is here represented. The account is only valuable, as 
furnishing the kind of estimate, which those best qualified, Romanists, form 
of each other's credibility in such circumstances of temptation, and as a speci- 
men of the coolness with which, when off their guard, they express their 
doubt — if the news be true ! For the purpose of defaming the Saxon Re- 
former there is produced in uninterrupted succession, as food in c hogs of 
TVestphaly,' down to the present generation, a passage, drawn from his 
Table Talk, representing a particular temptation by which he was assaulted. 
Jerom is still a saint in the Roman church. In hisxxiid epistle ad Eusto- 
chium de custodia Virginitatis towards the end of the first paragraph, he 
thus writes concerning himself. Ille igitur ego, qui ob gehennae metum tali 
me carcere ipse damnaveram, scorpionum tantum socius, et ferarum, ssepe 
choris inteream puellarum. Pallebant ora jejuniis ; et mens desideriis sestua- 
bat in frigido corpore ; et ante hominem sua jam carne praemortuum, sola 
libidinum incendiabulliebant, itaque omni auxilio destitutus, ad Jesu jacebam 
pedes, rigabam lacrymis, crine tergebam, et repugnantem carnem hebdoma- 
darum inedia subjugabam. Non erubesco confiteri infelicitatis meee miseriam: 
quin potius plango me non esse, quod fuerim. Tom. i., pp. 48, 49. ed- 
Colon. 1616. There is not an atom of difference between the case of the 
ancient saint and that of the Reformer, upon which the low minded bishop 
of Strasburg and his lower minded followers in the present age have 
attempted to fix the stigma as peculiar. 



60 COUNCIL OF TRENT. [1546. 

scripture and tradition, namely, that they should be received 
pari pietatis affectu ac reverentia, and after all had approved, 
he not only expressed his dissent, but affirmed, that the pro- 
position was impious, — which produced great commotion, and 
it was threatened, that he should be called upon to give an 
account of his conduct ; so that the poor creature was, in a 
manner, pointed at with scorn by the assembly*. 

The first proper act, of a substantial character, was, the 
fourth session which was celebrated on the 8th of April. A 
mass of the Holy Spirit was solemnized, to which succeeded 
an oration by Augustino Aretino, general of the order of 
Servites; and then were published the two decrees. The 
first of these ordains, under the sanction of anathema, that 
the Scriptures and Tradition are to be received and venerated 
with equal affection of piety and reverence, and that in the 
canon of scripture are included intermixed the books gene- 
rally called apocryphal. The second decree determines, that 
among the various Latin editions of the bible extant, that 
which is called the old and vulgate edition should, in pub- 
lic lectures, preaching, and exposition, be received as au- 
thentic, no one on any pretext being allowed to reject it. It 
further decrees, that no one shall dare to interpret scripture 
against the sense of holy mother church, to which it belongs 
to judge concerning the true sense and interpretation of 
scripture,, or against the unanimous consent of the fathers. 
The decree includes different restraints upon printers, under 
the same sanction of anathema for disobedience. 

Nothing was done in the way of reformation at this ses- 
sion. 

It will be discovered, that the matter of these decrees 
was by no means final, and that a considerable quantity of 
controversy was yet in reserve, and not easily to be disposed 
of. It will be observed too, that although confessedly, 
and as all parties agree, the holy Scriptures are the true 
foundation of all Christian truth, and the arbiter of all theo- 
logic disputes, the junction and incorporation of the apo- 

* il poveretto e quasi mostrato a dito. 



1546.] 



SESSION IV. 



61 



cryphal books, however important, if not necessary, to the 
support of some of the peculiar heresies of the Roman 
church, perfectly destroyed the quality of the judge, as to 
integrity — not to add, that this procedure is flatly con- 
demned by the judgment of Jerome, whose Prologus Galeatus 
is prudently omitted in the Tridentine editions of the vulgate. 
But it was not enough that the voice of God in his genuine 
word should be thus diluted and corrupted ; what is called 
tradition, a very different thing from ancient and legitimate 
tradition, a rule only explicable by those who monopolize 
it to themselves, and the consent of fathers, who are almost 
as various in themselves and with one another as the winds, 
are still further called in aid, to restrain the oracles of God 
from misleading the world and becoming an instrument of 
evil. 

The bishops at this session were increased to forty-nine. 

The account of the session sent by the legates is conform- 
able enough to the preceding statement ; but they add some 
particulars. The session, they write, was conducted orderly 
and pacifically. Admittance was not refused to some 
foreign gentlemen, who, it afterwards appeared, were well 
satisfied. When the decrees were read, all answered, Pla- 
cent. Monsignor di Chioggia, however, said obediam forsan, 
and there were three bishops who desired the representing 
clause. The coadjutor of Bergamo did not approve, that 
traditions should be received pari pietatis affectu ac reveren- 
iia, but would substitute for the word pari that of mmmo. 
The rest, however, agreed to swallow the affair whole. 



62 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[154G. 



Session V. 

PREPARATIONS — SESSION . 

Doctrine : Original Sin — Reformation : Lecturers, Preachers, and 
Quaestors. 

A letter of the 10th of April expresses strongly the re- 
gret of some bishops,, that residence is rendered difficult if 
not impossible to them, by the obstruction which they suffer 
— from the regulars, from the temporal lords, and from the 
apostolic see. Of all the consequences of this disability they 
profess most to regret the neglect of the cure of souls. The 
Spaniards exclaim against the cruciata. The legates, ex- 
cusing the liberty taken by them from a feeling of duty, yet 
profess themselves most loving to the court of Rome, and 
the creatures of his holiness. 

The classes, assembled on the 13th of April, examined 
the abuses of lectures and preaching. 

The general congregation of the 15th considered the pro- 
posals of the congregation just mentioned ; and the rest of 
the time of the fathers was occupied with the indulgences 
granted by his holiness to those who visited the church of 
the holy Trinity during Lent, (now just finished ;) and the 
legates with all the prelates went to the same church where 
the indulgences were published. 

The letter of the 15th of April is of some interest. Al- 
luding to what was done at the last session, the legates 
observe, that two abuses, respecting lectures and preachers, 
remained unresolved. Then, looking to the future, they 
say, that two ways lie before them — either to go forward 
and receive the ecclesiastic constitutions, and the coun- 
cils, purging abuses as they may be observed, in order to 
unite doctrine and reformation; or, presupposing all this 
portion established and indubitable, to commence the exami- 
nation of doctrines, as Original Sin. And since neither this, 
nor the doctrine to follow of Justification, have abuses con- 
nected with them, it will be" necessary to reform the church, 



1546] 



SESSION V. 



63 



beginning either from the sacraments, or from the residence 
of the bishops. If the first method be adopted, these diffi- 
culties will ensue. It cannot be denied, that in the councils 
and traditions there are many things, not only obsolete, but 
contradictory*. To examine them one by one would be 
endless. [Besides that it would be necessary to receive 
many councils, in which many things are contained to our 
disadvantage f.] To receive one and reject another was 
impossible. If reference should be made to the authority 
of the church, that would introduce the question so care- 
fully and prudently guarded against, of the relative autho- 
rity of the pope and the council. The second method consists 
of two parts. In entering upon doctrines there would be 
danger lest some of the prelates should be favourable to the 
new opinions ; although, with the assistance of so many theo- 
logians, it was hoped, that the resolutions would be framed 
catholically. Some of the imperialists might be suspected 
of the partiality mentioned. In entering, secondly, on the 
reformation of the church, this doubt only occurs, that in 
discussing the residence of bishops it would be necessary to 
inquire into the impediments. Such were the difficulties of 
the presidents ; and they beg precise instructions from his 
holiness : but to venture their own opinion, they say, that 
they incline to the way of doctrines and reformation, pre- 
supposing the ecclesiastic authority, the traditions, and the 
canons, as firm and indisputable, and availing themselves 
of them whenever it may be necessary to enter the ocean J 
of councils, the decretals, and the papal constitutions. This 
plan, they think, may be carried into effect with more 
advantage than when their number is increased, parti- 
cularly by the arrival of the ultramontanes. — This letter 
was written before the congregation. 

The next was written on the same day, after the congre- 

* non solo non sono in uso, ma ancora delle contrarieta. 

■f nelli quali si contiene ancora di molte cose in disfavor nostro. The 

passage within brackets appears only in the latter of the two MS collec- 
tions. The admission, although liberal, is no more than just. 

% all' entrare nel pelago, &c. 



64 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



gation, in which, it is observed, might be seen a general 
consent to treat of the residence of bishops and the impedi- 
ments. The same subject is pursued in the following epistle 
of the 20th. There we learn, that the bishops, for the 
greater part and of every nation, were urgent in their wishes, 
not only for residence, but for preaching and feeding the 
people committed to them, according to the duty of their 
office. Which, whether proceeding from conscience, or, as 
was insinuated, an artifice to recover their jurisdiction, was 
so plausible and popular, that they, the writers, could not 
withhold their approbation and assistance. Residence, how- 
ever, they proceed, draws after it the removal of the impedi- 
ments which they had before detailed; and they are of 
opinion, that the most important improvement would be, to 
provide assistant parish priests ; since the parishes are at 
present for the most part in the hands of those who seek 
nothing in them but their incomes, and serve them by sub- 
stitutes ; the consequence of which is, that so long as the 
benefices are conferred by the apostolic see, as has hitherto 
been done, no remedy will be applied to this disorder. And 
yet they think it hard, that the holy see should lose this 
privilege # . 

The letter of the 24th, which is peculiar to the third col- 
lection,, and is written by the Cardinal della Croce, the first 
president still being indisposed, is addressed to a new corre- 
spondent, Bernadino Maffeo. The legate expresses his con- 
cern, that the decrees of the last session had not given satis- 
faction, either to the deputies f, or the sacred college ; and 
desires to know where the blame attaches, as, in what con- 
cerns scripture and traditions, they had gone through fire 
and water, and endured contradiction which would have 
done honour to Wittemburg, to attain what they did. It 

* si fa da molti una conseguenza che fin che si daranno dalla sede 

apostolica come si son da qualche pontificato in qua non si rimediara mai a 
questo dissordine, et all' incontro non si puo disegnare di privarne in tutto 
la detta sede, &c. 

f These were, the congregation, or the little governing council, at Rome. 



1546.] 



SESSION V. 



G5 



was, it seems, desired that a corrected bible should have 
been promised : but this proposal implied, that f our bible, 
s that is, the bible of the Roman church, was incorrect.' 
This was too palpable an error to be hazarded in these times 
of calumny for the church : besides that the course taken by 
the legates still left free, and without danger, to his holiness 
the correction of the bible, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. ( We 
f will, therefore,' they continue, ' expect from you a fine 
' Bible*, corrected and amended for the press; and if here the 
e labours of the many able men among us can give any assist- 
6 ance, you shall be welcome to it. And thus, those who ad- 
' mire, as you do, that the common edition should be pro- 
* nounced authentic, without any mention of correcting it, 
e finding it corrected will feel themselves under perpetual obli- 
c gation to his holiness ; and the council will not have given 
f an opinion against the scripture of our church, but on the 
' contrary have authenticated and approved it — a thing of 
s no small importance.' The writer proceeds to vindicate 
the edition from the charge of incorrectness, because one 
book or another may be incorrect, the edition being a species, 
and the books individuals ; not to say, that in the opinion of 
many the only errors are those of the press ; and although 
delicate ears may be offended with some of the expressions 
in the Vulgate, its readings are supported by the most antient 
copies of the originals. 

The next letter to the usual correspondent, the most reve- 
rend Farnese, of the 26th of April, pursues the same sub- 
ject, and combats the same objection. This young cardinal 
and critic is reported as wishing to know, why, in receiving 
the Vulgate as authentic, no mention was made of correcting 
it : since it is manifest, that there are errors in it, which 
can ill be attributed to the press-f*. The answer is, that, 
after long disputation upon the subject, many of the learned 
of the different nations held, that the vulgar edition was that 
of St. J erome. Others agreed unanimously, that f he edition 

* bella biblia. 

f in essa sono degli errori che mat si possono attribuire alia stampa. 

F 



66 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



used in the Roman church was the most secure, as never 
having been accused of heresy, although it might appear to 
vary in some places from the Hebrew and Greek text; and 
however humble, barbaric, or solecistic its style might be, the 
originals were corrupted by the Hebrews and heretics ; and 
therefore no course was so secure, as to rest upon that 
church, which, besides being the head of Christendom, had 
even, by the special privilege and favour of God, been pre- 
served without spot of heresy, and with a perpetual and 
uninterrupted succession of pontiffs. Although the incorrec- 
tions do not touch matters of faith, the synod has not thought 
proper to adopt the opinion of the deputies, nor to confess, by 
a public decree, that the edition was formally * corrupt ; but 
in this dilemma judged it more expedient to correct the 
books tacitly f, and to issue them with the authority of their 
lord, and with the approbation of the synod, than to rectify 
an error at a time when there would be no remedy. It was 
therefore concluded at the last general congregation, that 
his holiness should be written to, in the name of the synod, 
as is now done, to correct with all expedition the last edition, 
and then the Greek and Hebrew Bibles; and, the same 
being done here, that the joint labours should produce, with 
the authority of the pope, and council, a correct Bible which 
should be published for the perpetual conservation of the 
faith. The legates give seven reasons for the course which 
they had taken, among which the most observable are : that 
which represents it as the declaration of their adversaries, 
that they have separated from the Roman church, not only 
on account of its bad manners, but likewise its false doctrine, 
and it would be a confirmation of their statement, if the 
sacred scriptures, which for centuries she has published, pro- 
claimed, and interpreted, should be acknowledged to be 
erroneous ; nor would it avail to say, that the errors did not 
affect faith, since from one error might be deduced an in- 
finity ; and that, the last, which proposes, that in case the 
errors should be judged important, an amended edition 
* formalmentc. f tacitamente. 



1546] 



SESSION V. 



67 



might be published without scandal or infamy, every error 
being ascribable either to antient or modern transcribers*. 

There is something instructive in all this ; and the reader, 
who is at all acquainted with biblical or papal literature, 
needs only to be referred to the tardy and inauspicious 
result of this altercation, which, so much more favourably 
for Rome than for Trent, was carried into execution by the 
pontiffs, in this respect not very concordant, Sixtus V and 
Clement VIII, the latter of whom, after obliterating by 
pasting over the errors of his predecessor, with little satis- 
faction or little effect, was induced at length to draw the 
broad stroke of infallible condemnation over the whole sur- 
face of his predecessor's amended bible, and after the lapse 
of forty-six years from the time of the present history 5 
published to the Roman world an edition of their bible 
which might be esteemed correct. This pontiff, it is well 
known, availed himself of the delicate hint, to ascribe all 
errors to printers; and woe would have been to them, if 
they told the truth. Thus the 2,000 variations are satis- 
factorily settled. It is enough to refer to the labours of 
our able and meritorious, but ill-encouraged, James, on this 
subject f. 

* potendosi sempre attribuire all' incorrectione de' librari o moderni 

antichi. 

f See Bellum Papale, sive Concordia Discors Sixti Quinti, et Clementis 
Octavi, circa Hieronymianam editionem, &c. Lond. 1606: likewise an 
Apology or Defence of the same, in his Treatise of the Corruption of 
Scripture, &c., by the church of Rome, pp, 311—358. Ed. 1688. There 
is a passage on this subject worth transcribing from the pen of a very com- 
petent member of the Roman church. ( It is worthy of observation, that 
4 although the council here declares' (referring to the decree upon the 
subject) 4 the Latin Vulgate, in general, to be an authentic edition (i. e, 

1 version) of the Scriptures, it fixes upon no one particular copy, as the 
4 standard to be followed. Hence Sixtus V justly remarks, that the decree 
4 could be of no avail, unless the genuine readings of that same Vulgate 
' were ascertained. This province he took upon himself; and in 1589,' 
(that is, the date of the prefixed bull,) ' gave an edition, revised, he says, 
4 with the utmost care, and ultimately corrected by his own hand : which 
' edition he, in the plenitude of apostolic authority, and in a style and tone 
' truly pontifical, declares to be the only genuine authentic Text of the 

F 2 



68 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



In a letter of the last day of April is curiously illustrated 
the method of proceeding- in the council, as its managers 
are concerned, in the undisguised confession, that the legates 
kept the congregation employed with certain subjects, in the 
present instance it was abuses, (no matter what,) in order 
to gain time for receiving an answer from Rome — the pope, 
and his little council. 

Upon Francesco di Toledo, the Spanish ambassador's, 
proposal to treat of reformation alone, and the answer, that 
this was contrary to the bull of his holiness, and the order 
of the council, we have the first direct information, that 
original sin would be the doctrine to be settled in the next 
session. This is contained in a letter of the 4th of May, 
which, in order to reconcile the emperor to the course, adds, 
that, in the Diet of Ratisbon, this doctrine was considered, 

4 Vulgate, forbids a single word to be changed in future editions, and de- 
4 nounces canonical pains and heavenly vengeance against all who shall 
4 presume to contravene this decree. Yet there soon arose another pontiff, 
' equally infallible, who made no sort of account of Sixtus's comminations, 
4 or his ever-to-be-valid constitution. Clement VIII suppressed all the 
' copies of his predecessor's edition, and, about three years after, gave one 
4 of his own, with a great many alterations, and not a few contradictory 
' readings. Although neither of these editions has the sanction of any 
4 council, yet each of them has the sanction of a pope : now which of them, 
4 pray, must we believe to contain the genuine Text of that Vulgate de- 
4 clared to be an authentic edition by the Council of Trent ? Or, in other 
4 words, which of the two popes was the more infallible 9 " The latter," 
4 it will no doubt be said : but why ? merely because he came after the 
4 other ? Then, if the present pope discover, or imagine he has discovered, 
4 that Clement's edition is also erroneous, and as erroneous as Clement found 
4 that of Sixtus ; and, in consequence, give a new edition, in the plenitude of 
4 papal power, different from both ; which then of the three will be the most 
4 authentic ? 44 That of Pius VI to be sure : and so on to the end of the 
' world." Can any thing be more ludicrous ?' See letter from the Rev. A. 
Geddes, LL.D., to the Right Rev. John Douglass, Bp. of Centuriae, and Vic. 
Ap. in the London district, pp. 20, 21, Note. This able and indignant letter, 
which is not very accessible, plainly proves, that nothing but want of power 
withholds the true and -consistent functionaries of Romanism from intro- 
ducing and enforcing in this country all the rigours, not only of the Index 
Prohibitorius et Expurgatorius, but of the Inquisition itself. — See a Me- 
morial for the Reformation of England, by R.P. [Robert Parsons, edited 
by Gee, in 1G90.] I have an early MS of it. 



1546.] 



SESSION V. 



69 



not as controverted, but. generally agreed upon,, and that the 
first controverted one was, that of justification. The emperor 
did not wish to linger upon doctrine, and widen dissension; 
but to satisfy and unite his subjects, if he could, by refor- 
mation of abuses, which were highly oppressive and blazoned 
their own shame. 

On the 7th of May, the legates write, that they continued 
their labours upon the mode of proposing the doctrine of 
original sin ; and they trust they have discovered a w T ay of 
facilitating and abbreviating the discussion. 

On the 10th of May, a general congregation was held, in 
which were started great difficulties respecting the preaching 
of the regulars. A discourse was read against them, and 
some altercation arose between the cardinals del Monte and 
of Trent, concerning the answers to the king of Portugal. 

In a letter of the 11th of May, the legates insinuate, that 
the bishops united in the opinion respecting abridging the 
privileges of the regulars, from self-interest, and without 
any regard to canons, councils, and papal favour. It ap- 
pears, that the opinions at the congregation were all written, 
and very long, and therefore tedious to be examined. The 
bishops of Fiesole and Chioggia are censured, the first, for 
certain disrespectful and seditious words, which were 
punished by dismissal from the council; the other, for 
similar misconduct, which occasioned his being forbidden 
to return. The irresolution of the last congregation is im- 
puted to a wish to avoid coming to doctrine, a wish, which, 
the writers say, will be disappointed, unless their own hands 
are tied or the answer from Rome lingers ; since they are de- 
termined to bring on the discussion of the doctrine of original 
sin. 

The 15th of May, in a letter of that date, presents us 
with nothing very observable, except the repeated assurance 
of the legates, that they will amuse the council, up to 
the session, with extended discussions about the punish- 
ment of non-residence, and that they will not go forward in 



70 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



any thing touching reformation, without giving his holiness 
time to consider and resolve upon the subject. 

On the 18th was held a general congregation, in which, 
with other business of routine, the secretary records, that 
the cardinal del Monte read some extracts from the address 
of the bishop of Fiesole, which were schismatical and scan- 
dalous, reprehending those who imitated such licentious 
conduct; and adds, that there was a dispute between the 
legates and some of the fathers, whether the office of pro- 
posing in the congregations belonged to the legates alone ; 
and the first president proved by many arguments and au- 
thorities, that although every one was free to speak his 
mind in the council, yet that the office of proposing belonged 
to the legates alone. — This appears to be the first formal 
declaration and assumption of so important, and afterwards 
so obstinately disputed a right. 

On the 19th of May, one of the legates, del Monte, as it 
is presumed, from speaking of his late indisposition, in a 
letter to MafFeo, expresses himself with evident soreness on 
account of the blame cast upon the legates for uniting the 
subjects of doctrine and reformation. The interested views 
of the different princes likewise excited his querulity. In 
fine, he says, if his holiness can suspend the council to a 
better time, or transfer it from the present place, with the 
consent of, or without umbrage to, the princes, let him ; for 
it is plain that all are looking to their own private ad- 
vantage, and wish to make merchandize of the council 
itself. 

A joint letter, however, of the same date, to Farnese, ex- 
presses their satisfaction at one just received from him, as 
they had uniformly, both in word and deed, made doctrine 
to take precedence in all their proceedings ; and they are 
happy, that his holiness, with his wonted prudence and 
magnanimity, had determined to proceed with the work of 
God in a straight path. This resolution they are ready to 
second with vigour, although they foresee, that the opposi- 



1546] 



SESSION V. 



71 



tion of the imperialists in particular will continue to make 
their meetings tumultuous, protracted and embarrassed. 
But knowing the mind of his holiness, they are resolved, if 
necessary, notwithstanding the ill health of one of their 
body, to have congregations every day, and bring matters 
to some decision : they will then propose the point of ori- 
ginal sin, not being able to pass to that of justification until 
the first is settled ; which, they add, is of more importance 
than is commonly thought, and was not, as affirmed, ad- 
mitted as an uncontro verted doctrine at the colloquy of 
Ratisbon, although the legates are advised to make rheto- 
rical use of that erroneous impression *. 

The legates were faithful to their promise respecting the 
meeting of the congregations : there were general ones on the 
two successive days, the 20th and 21st. The journalist, Mas- 
sarelli, states, that on the first of these days was discussed 
the reading of the scriptures in the monasteries, with some 
other points. On the second were examined matters con- 
cerning the preaching and residence of bishops, parish 
priests, and regulars ; as well as concerning quaestors. On 
this occasion was first proposed by the legates for the next 
session the doctrine of original sin, upon which were first 
adduced the opinions of the theologians extra concilium. 

The letter which follows close upon these congregations 
is very much what might be expected. It repeats the infor- 
mation of the proceedings in those assemblies ; and declares 
it to be the intention of the legates to get on with busi- 
ness, although the meeting should detain them until night, 
They are in pursuit of substantial things, without which the 
world will think ill of the council and his holiness, and feel 
obliged to seek its own remedy. They propose to proceed 

* The controvertible part of the doctrine of original sin, to which the 
legates refer, respects the effect of baptism as connected with it. But let us 
read the original. L' avertimento che VS. Reverendissima ci da di non 
mostrare debilita in usar quel luogho rettorico che il titolo del peccato ori- 
ginal non sia controverso in Germania e venuto a tempo, perche non 
havendo ancor noi proposto articolo. &c. 



72 



Council of trent. 



[1546. 



in order,, and, laying as a positive foundation the doetrine of 
original sin, to pass on to other doctrines. Delay was re- 
quested by the imperial ambassador ; but it was replied, 
that business must proceed, and that the emperor would be 
benefited by such a course. 

The theological congregation met on Monday, the 24th ; 
and three heads of questions on original sin were proposed 
to them by the presidents — 

L By what arguments did the antient fathers, councils, 
and the apostolic see, combat the opposers of the doctrine 
— and let them explain, from what principle original sin is 
derived, how contracted, to whom communicated. 

2. Let them explain the quality of the sin, not by defini- 
tions, but by its effects, and what are the principal effects : 
as likewise what force it has in those who are obnoxious to 
it, and how it is distinguished from other sins, (meaning 
actual ones.) 

3. Of the remedy — what — from what principle — how — 
and what it effects in those who receive it. Likewise, whe- 
ther it be so eradicated, that no vestiges remain, and if any 
remain, what is their force. 

On the morrow they met again, in order to give an oppor- 
tunity of delivering their sentiments to those who were pre- 
vented in the former congregation by want of time. 

It will be perceived, by this rather abridged account, that 
something was about being done, and that, in their own way, 
the governors of the council were not disposed to be idle. 

There was a general congregation on the 28th of May, in 
which was proposed the same doctrine divided into two parts 
— 1st, the knowledge, the propagation, and the malignity 
of the evil ; 2d, its remedy ; and the effects of that remedy 
— and many authorities of the fathers and councils were 
read on the subject. 

A letter written the same day states, that at the late gene- 
ral congregation it was proposed absolutely, not condition- 
ally, to proceed to the doctrine of original sin in the 
ensuing session; and recognizes generally the acts of the 



1546.] 



SESSION V. 



73 



theological congregations,, as just given. The general con- 
gregation of the present day, they add, was deferred, in 
order to give Don Diego, the imperial ambassador, the 
opportunity of being present ; and particularly because there 
was an indistinct rumour, that the congregation would be a 
tumultuous one, owing to the anticipated efforts of some to 
oppose the treating of doctrine, and a kind of irregular 
meeting of prelates, Spanish, Sicilian, and others, in the 
house of Don Francesco, which, however, the legates treated 
as an idle apprehension. There was great opposition to the 
precedence of doctrine ; and while the diet of Ratisbon sat, 
it was thought best to postpone doctrine, and to enter upon 
ecclesiastical traditions and their abuses. The legates flatly 
opposed this proposal, and determined to undertake doc- 
trine ; and this decision was acquiesced in without tumult. 
The cardinal of Jaen, Pacecco, was desirous, that, in the 
decree on original sin, the Virgin Mary should be excepted, 
as free ; since that was the general opinion of the Christian 
world": but the legates wished to decline controverted points, 
especially such as were controverted in their own church *. 
The votes upon the question were various. Without his holi- 
ness's commission the legates would not make themselves 
responsible, and for that reason forbore to enter into the 
quid ditative definition of original sin. Their conduct 
was applauded by the majority. 

The letters of the legates now forsake us as a guide for 
an interval, a chasm taking place from the last date through- 
out the whole month of June to the 17th of July ; so that, 
as far as our manuscripts are concerned, we are thrown upon 
the meagre assistance of Massarelli in his summary, and 
the Diario. 

The last of these authorities has nothing but what we 
avoid as much as possible, the mere secularities of the coun- 
cil. 

* Onde li legati scrissero a Roma, di dove venne ordine, che si procu- 
rasse, e si concordasse le parti, e quanto alia Beatissima Vergine non si pre- 
giudicasse al breve di Sisto IV. — Diario, lib. ii. 



74 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



The secretary faithfully informs us, that there was a gene- 
ral congregation on the 4th of June, in which were present 
Don Diego, and Francesco di Toledo, and the different por- 
tions of the doctrine under consideration were examined. 
On the next day was another, in which the same subject 
was pursued. On the 7th a copy of the decree was sent to 
the legates. At another general congregation on the next 
day the decree was read and examined by the presidents. 
The following day another congregation produced the here- 
sies connected with the doctrine, and the legates decreed to 
hear the opinions of the theologians. Episcopal residence 
had likewise a part in the business of the day. On the 10th, 
the day immediately following, the unfinished discussion of 
residence was agreed to be postponed. On the evening 
of the day, however, the theologians met, and a form of 
the decree was proposed to them, and they gave their 
opinions. The reformed decree was submitted to a general 
congregation on the 11th, for examination, when a violent 
contest arose among the fathers, whether or not the question 
of the conception of the Blessed Virgin should be decided in 
this decree ; and it was determined, that the article should 
be left as Sixtus IV had settled it, which decision may be 
renewed by the council *. In a congregation on the 15th 
of June was read and examined the decree concerning lec- 
tures and preaching ; and as a very great altercation arose 
about the preaching and punishment of the regulars, no- 
thing was concluded, and the subject was referred to the 
congregation of the next day. That congregation was the 
last before the session ; it was held on the 16th. Here, at 
length, and after much contention, the two decrees were 
agreed upon, of original sin, and of lecturers and preachers. 
The contumacy of the absent prelates was censured, and the 
day fixed for the session after the next, January the 13th, 
1547. 

On the 17th of June, 1546, the Fifth Session was cele- 
brated. After mass the oration was delivered by Marco 
* quae determinatio a concilio innovetur. 



1546.] 



SESSION V. 



75 



Laurio, a Dominican. The two decrees, which had been 
prepared and approved, were read, the first on Original Sin, 
the other on Reformation. 

The decree of Original Sin was divided into five sections, 
each sanctioned by an anathema. 

As we do not undertake a complete or regular history of 
the council, which may be found in various well-composed 
and accessible works, it will be quite sufficient to notice 
some of the more prominent or extraordinary features of 
the decisions which were made at the present session. 

It may be proper to observe, now, in the language of the 
legates, we are come to substantial — the scriptures and tra- 
dition being in their view the foundation or rule by which to 
determine them, and therefore a preliminary — that the entire 
of the decrees and canons of this and the succeeding parts 
of the council with which we are now concerned, is tran- 
scribed at length in the volume of the secretary, and would 
accordingly be somewhat of an authority on the occurrence 
of a doubtful reading. 

The first decree, that concerning Original Sin, enacts, 
professes, and declares that — 

1. If any man refuse to acknowledge, that Adam, imme- 
diately after his transgression, lost his sanctity and incurred 
the wrath of God, and is fallen under the dominion of the 
devil, and that the whole Adam, in body and soul, was 
changed for the worse, (in deterius commutatum fuisse,) let 
him be anathema. 

2. If any man assert, that the sin of Adam injured him- 
self alone, and not his offspring ; or that, in consequence 
of his transgression, temporal punishment only, and not sin, 
is transmitted, let him be anathema. 

3. If any man shall assert, that this transmitted sin has 
any other remedy than the merit of Christ ; or deny, that 
this merit is applied by baptism rightly administered, ac- 
cording to the form of the church, whether to infants or 
adults, let him be anathema. 

4. If any man shall deny, that the infants of baptized 



76 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



parents should be baptized ; or affirm, that they are baptized 
for the remission of sins (peccatorum), but not for the con- 
tracted sin of Adam, which can only be expiated by the 
laver of regeneration, for the acquisition of eternal life, 
making thus the baptism, not a true but a false one, let 
him be anathema. 

5. If any man deny, that the guilt of sin is remitted by 
the grace of Christ conferred in baptism, or shall even assert, 
that the total of sin is not removed, but only shorn, (radi*,) 
or not imputed, let him be anathema. 

e This holy council, however, declares, that it is not her 
' intention to comprehend in this decree, which treats of 
i original sin, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, 
( mother of God ; but that the constitutions of pope Sextus 
( IV, of happy memory, are to be observed, under the penal- 
( ties contained in those constitutions, which she renews.' 

This is a very remarkable clause, the reason of which will 
be sufficiently apparent from what has appeared even in the 
preceding pages. The council was evidently in a strait 
between two strong and important parties ; and its dexte- 
rity at least is admirable. It applies the epithet immaculate 
to the Virgin, but not to her conception, and refers, as a 
confirmation, to constitutions of a pontiff, which do indeed 
mention the conception, but the epithet there found is not 
immaculate, but wonderful. It deserves to be added, that 
in the first two editions of the canons, decrees and acts of 
the synod, up to the last session inclusive, printed at Ant- 
werp and Paris in the same year, 1546, this clause is want- 
ing. In the Protestant edition, of the same year, it appears, 
and for the first time. The first papal edition in which it is 
extant is, that of Milan, in 1548 f, which comprehends the 
seventh session. That ever such a doctrine as the imma- 

* What the precise notion of the fathers was in this figurative expres- 
sion is rather difficult to determine. 

fit was printed on the 1st, the Calends, of March : but the year in the 
book itself is 1548. How Le Plat in the Preface to his edition came to 
make it 1547, I cannot tell. The last date in the book is April, 1547, so 
that the following March must be 1548. 



1546] 



SESSION V. 



77 



culate conception of the Virgin, mother of the incarnate 
Word, should have been admitted into any creed professedly- 
Christian, much more, that it should have become the sub- 
ject of eager contention among professed Christians, can 
only be accounted for by reverting to the established appoint- 
ment of a just and holy Providence, that when men have 
embraced one atrocious and cardinal error, they will be 
allowed to precipitate themselves into others equal or supe- 
rior in iniquity without limit ; and to the fact, that when the 
blessed Virgin was deified and exalted to an equality with 
her divine Son, it became a natural, if not necessary conse- 
quence, in order to support and justify this impiety, that 
the mother should be equally, and in the same respect, 
immaculate, with her Son. It is an awful instance of 
judicial infatuation in the subjects of Rome, that they are 
not instantly appalled by this palpable and blasphemous 
heresy of their church. May a God of mercy cause this, 
and all their other delusions to vanish ! 

The decree of Reformation, now making its first appear- 
ance and beginning its progress, consists of two chapters. 

The first is concerning reading the scriptures, and ordains, 
that the scriptures should be read in various churches, in 
monasteries, and in convents, with different obvious provi- 
sions for the due performance of the duty, according to the 
view, and usage of the Roman church. 

The second relates to preaching and the quaestors, requi- 
ring that the duty of preaching should be discharged by 
bishops and parish priests, and those who have the cure of 
souls ; that the regulars shall not preach in their own 
churches without the approbation of their superiors and the 
blessing of the bishop, nor in churches not belonging to their 
order without the licence of the bishop ; and if they preach 
heretically, the bishop, by apostolic authorit}^ and as a 
delegate of the apostolic see, (sedis apostoliccs delegatus,) 
may proceed against them. But calumny is to be guarded 
against. Quaestors, called eleemosynary, are not allowed 
to preach, either themselves or by others ; and if they 



78 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



attempt it, they may be prevented or coerced by the bishops 
— an unfortunate fraternity, reviled, disowned, and yet 
cherished by a church, to whom they are frequently profit- 
able, if not necessary. But a demonstration was to be made, 
while Luther was yet remembered, and Protestants were 
spectators of the scene. This subject, however, will come 
before us again. 

The council appointed the Thursday after St. James's day, 
or the 13th of January, 1547, for the next session. This 
was unanimously approved. On the decree concerning ori- 
ginal sin there was the same agreement ; but when the con- 
ception of the blessed virgin Mary was brought forward, 
some wished, that it should be expressed and decided that 
she was not conceived in original sin. A few pressed for 
the representing clause, which they desired might be added 
in the title of the second decree. That decree was univer- 
sally approved, except by some, who would have it declared, 
that in no churches should it be lawful for the regulars to 
preach without express licence of the bishops. Then was 
read the breve of his holiness confirmatory of what was de- 
creed under this head of reformation, dated Rome, June the 
7th, 1546. 

After this the promoter of the council desired to accuse 
the absent prelates of contumacy ; the majority, however, 
carried, that the German bishops should be excepted during 
the diet of Ratisbon. He likewise directed the notaries to 
draw up one or more instruments of all that had passed. 

The Te Deum and a blessing finished the whole. 

This is the whole amount, abridged but in a few sen- 
tences, of what is recorded by Massarelli. He has therefore 
omitted many particulars in the exceptions which were made 
by several of the fathers, and which are to be read in other 
histories. But his statement is precise and valuable. 

There were present at this session fifty-nine prelates. 
The cardinal of Trent was absent upon another errand. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



79 



Session VI. 
PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 

Doctrine : Justification — Reformation : Residence : Excesses of Clerics, 
Secular and Regular. 

The author of the Diary, immediately after mentioning the 
fifth session, relates, that the emperor, being informed how 
much the protestants were dissatisfied with the decrees which 
had been passed in the council, wrote to his ambassadors and 
prelates at Trent to urge by all means an attention to reform, 
and the postponement of doctrines, which, as they had been 
established, deterred the protestants from attending the 
council. 

He then states, that the cardinal of Trent had arrived at 
Rome, and concluded a league with the pope against the 
protestants of Germany, because, having for a long time per- 
sisted in heresy, they refused to submit to a general council ; 
and therefore it was resolved, that they should be compelled 
to obey by force. For this purpose the pope remitted to 
his ally 200,000 crowns, upon condition, that his majesty 
should not make peace with the protestants, and that, if any 
prince moved arms against Charles, the pope would stand 
engaged to defend him with both temporal and spiritual 
arms. — This is the chief pastor of the Catholic church ! 

The diary proceeds to relate, that his holiness wrote to 
the Swiss, entreating them to assist, stating the cause of the 
league, and inviting them to the council. 

So much for the vile politics of these crowned conspirators, 
temporal and spiritual, against the cause of Christ, and 
against the persons of his most faithful disciples ! So much 
for the councils of blood which they were driven to adopt, 
who were strangers to the councils of peace, religion and 
reason ! 

Returning to theological matters, the diarist writes, that 
on the following day, meaning after that of the session*, the 

* Pallavicino, who is bound to quarrel with his predecessor as often as he 
can, whether with or without reason, affirms, that Fra Paolo is wrong in the 



80 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



legate del Monte endeavoured to impress upon the meeting 
the duty of episcopal residence, representing how much evil 
ensued from their absence from their sees. It was replied, 
that residence was useless, owing to the exemptions and 
privileges of the chapters and regulars. There was like- 
wise extended disputation on twenty-five articles of Luther 
on the subject of justification, importing, that every human 
act was a sin, but through faith alone remitted by God*. 

The particularity of the summary instructs us, that after 
a general congregation on the 21st of June, which related 
exclusively to the case of the absent bishops, there were on 
the next day submitted to the congregation of theologians 
the following six heads, or interrogatories, on the article of 
justification. 

1. What is justification, as to name and thing; and what 
is to be understood by the expression, that a man is justified ? 

2. What are the causes of justification, what does God 
effect, what is required on the part of man ? 

3. What is to be understood by a man's being justified 
by faith? 

day for the transactions here recorded, being, as he says, not the 18th but 
the 21st, viii, ii ; although he agrees with the MS which we are following, 
and is borne out by the representation of Raynaidus, as Courayer on his 
original, ii, lxxii, has shown. But there is something important in the 
Italian advocate, which deserves production. On the day, whichever it 
might be, he represents it as the true fact, that the second legate della Croce 
observed to the fathers, that ' the head of justification was rendered more 
' obscure than that already defined of original sin, since upon the latter the 
' antient scholastics had abundantly discoursed, but on the former they were 
' very sparing, (parchissimi.) There were, however, very many Catholic 
1 authors of the last twenty years who in their writings against Luther had 
' thrown great light upon it.' After Luther ! This would not greatly help ; 
for, after an oily speech of Cardinal Pole, another cardinal, Pacecco, de- 
clares, that ' on this subject, not only the antient scholastics, but the antient 
' councils, likewise failed to give them support : the Tridentine was the first 
c which undertook to do it,' (mancar non solo 1' ajuto, &c.) The subject 
therefore was to be turned over to the theologians, which was accordingly done. 
Does it not from hence, as well as from other evidence, appear, that, on car- 
dinal points of theology, Rome was to seek for her own doctrine ? 

* volendo, che ogn' atto humano fosse peccato, ma per la sola fede 

rimesso da Dio. lib. ii. 



15461] 



SESSION VI. 



81 



4. Whether, and how, do works, before or after, operate 
to justification ? 

5. What precedes, what accompanies, what follows, justi- 
fication ? 

6. By what authorities of scripture, councils, or fathers, or 
of apostolic traditions, are the decisions to be made supported ? 

Eight spake upon the subject this day. 

On the next, five ; on the next but one, seven ; on the 
next, the 26th, five, when three ambassadors of the king of 
France arrived in Trent ; on the 27th, five ; on the 28th, and 
finally, four. Their labours were applauded by the first 
president. It is added under the same day, that Cardinal 
Pole went to Veletri* for his health. 

On the 30th of June a general congregation had the jus- 
tification of adults, in three supposed states, proposed to 
them i — 

1. As first coming to the faith, where is to be examined 
the whole progress of justification ; how the merits of Christ 
are applied ; what. God, what man, does ; whether, and 
how, works operate to justification ; what is justification ; 
and how is to be understood a man's being justified by 
faith ; with other points. 

2. How, when justified, a man can, and ought to, pre- 
serve received justification, and labour to advance in it; and 
how the renewed man may obtain final glory. 

3. If a man fall by sin after justification, how is he to be 
restored, that he may be again justified, and the merits of 
Christ be again applied to him ; and in what this justifica- 
tion differs from, and agrees with, the first j-. 

It is likewise to be examined, what on this subject is 
found in approved councils and fathers, to which the holy 
synod can appeal, and of which make use. 

The errors arising from the doctrine were then read. 

* Tres villas. 

f These three points of inquiry are really given in a very different way 
by Pallavicino, 1st. viii. ii ; and yet it is impossible to believe Massarelli's 
MS incorrect ; at least to so great an extent as it then must be. 

G 



82 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



We may just observe,, from the preceding, the manifest 
recognition of the doctrine of a two-fold, a first and a second, 
justification, so lightly adopted, and so ill supported, by the 
great and acknowledged learning of some speculative pro- 
testants. 

The fathers had reason enough to inquire into their usual 
sources of authority on the subject of a doctrine, which, al- 
though obviously lying at the foundation of all human hope, 
was yet, and that confessedly, new to themselves and their 
church. There was among their doctors no clear and uni- 
form statement of what scripture teaches respecting the jus- 
tification of a sinner in the sight of God, and consequently 
of his own ultimate and eternal views, either of happiness or 
of misery, in the state after death. 

On the 5th of July commenced three successive days of 
general congregations, on which the fathers, who are respec- 
tively named, delivered their opinions on the doctrine of 
justification. 

On the 8th the French ambassadors were formally re- 
ceived; and one bishop spake on the subject then before the 
council. 

On the 10th, and, Sunday intervening, the 12th, and 
13th, and 14th, congregations were held, and opinions heard, 
to the same effect ; and on the 15th, four fathers were de- 
puted to draw up a decree on the doctrine : opinions like- 
wise were heard on the second and third state in the inquiry 
above proposed. A congregation was held on the same 
points the next day. 

Advice was received from Rome, the diarist informs us, 
that the pope on the 15th of July published a jubilee, and 
in a bull explained the cause to be, the obstinacy of the pro- 
testants ; and therefore he had made a league with the em- 
peror. The emperor, dissembling the motive of religion, 
published a ban against the elector of Saxony and the land- 
grave, declaring them rebels and traitors, and absolving their 
subjects from their oath of obedience. The emperor was 
displeased with the jubilee, and the pope with the ban. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



83 



They had each their own ends,, the pope to disgust the pro- 
testants, and dissolve the council, the emperor to destroy 
the protestant princes, and to keep the council standing ; 
and therefore he ordered his ambassador at Rome to pro- 
vide, that Trent should be made secure for the council, and 
he would force the protestants by arms to attend it. About 
this time the protestant army approached the Tyrol, in 
which Trent was situated, and put the more timid of the 
fathers in alarm, which, however, was dissipated by the 
arrival of the papal troops. 

On the 17th of July at a general congregation the occu- 
pations of the fathers were unseasonably, and not very deco- 
rously, interrupted by a corporal altercation between two of 
its most reverend members. At the close of the meeting the 
bishop of Chiron, approaching the bishop of Cava, told him, 
that he could not clear himself of great ignorance or great 
impudence in what he had advanced. Upon which the in- 
dividual addressed, seizing the beard of the offender with 
both his hands, extracted some of the hair. It was neces- 
sary for the authorities to interfere in such a case of violence 
and indignity, and the over-hasty prelate was sentenced to 
incarceration in the monastery of St. Bernadino. He was 
shortly released, but forbidden to return to the council, and 
ordered to Rome to obtain absolution from the pontiff*. 

At this date we are rejoined by the Legantine epistles, 
and the first of them is principally occupied with this unfor- 
tunate encounter. 

On the 19th, 21st, 22d, and 23d, general congregations 
were employed upon the two states, which have appeared 
in discussion before. On the same day was announced the 
arrival of the cardinal Farnese : so that the ensuing letters 
are addressed to other individuals — he was on his way to 
Germany, but was detained at Rovereto by a fever. The 
object of his journey was, to join Ottavio Farnese, who had 
the command of the papal army destined to assist the em- 
peror against the protestants. The cardinal wished to have 

* Massarelli. 

g2 



84 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[J 546. 



had the cross carried before him,, and to have published in- 
dulgences, as legate of the army against the Lutherans : but 
the emperor would not consent, in consequence of which the 
cardinal retired to Ratisbon, pretending to be ill, and trans- 
mitted an account of the affair to the pope, his grandfather, 
at Rome*. 

Of the date of July 22, is a letter to Cardinal Ardingello, 
(secretary of state to the pope,) in which the legates, after 
expressing their hope of hearing the mind of his holiness, 
and his little council at Rome, respecting the articles on 
which the council was engaged, the doctrine of justification, 
and the impediments to episcopal residence, under the head 
of reformation, observe, that they had lost no time, and 
spared no labour on the doctrine, which, however, they found 
so intricate j, that they were obliged to adjourn ; although 
all who had then spoken agreed in essentials^. Before they 
had finished the letter the opinions of the theologians at 
Rome had reached them. 

On the 30th of July a scene was exhibited in a general 
congregation then celebrated, of some peculiarity and import- 
ance, which is noticed in the summary in the usual concise 
manner. e There arose in this congregation a violent alter- 
' cation § among the fathers, but principally between the 
( most reverend lords cardinals, del Monte, of Trent, and of 
' Jaen, on the question of determining a certain or uncertain 
' day for the future session, when, on . account of the extreme 
e contentions, nothing certain could be settled.' 

The next letter of our legates alludes to it thus. It is 
dated August 1, and addressed to the Camerlengho. They 
beseech his most reverend lordship to suspend his judgment 
relative to reports from Trent, until Achille de' Grassi, ad- 
vocate of the council, his lordship's auditor, and a confiden- 
tial servant, should explain all to his holiness. They add, 
that what they thus barely alluded to would furnish a rea- 

* See Massarelli and Diario ii. f tanto intricate). 

X essentiali. § maxima altercatio. 



1546] 



SESSION VI. 



85 



sonable cause, (or pretence,) to his holiness for transferring 
the council from Trent, which was a place neither free nor 
secure*. 

The letter on the next day but one enters a little more 
openly into the subject. It is written to the Duke of 
Piacenza, (Pierluigi Farnese, natural son of his holiness;) 
and the writer, who is the second legate, acquaints his new 
correspondent, that he was called away from his son, the 
cardinal, whom he left recovering, in the neighbourhood, to 
Trent by a certain tempestf which had taken place, in a con- 
gregation, between the three cardinals ; of which, however, 
this advantage may be made, that if his sanctity wish, he 
may, in all probability, shortly and lawfully transfer the 
council to another place; a circumstance of much importance 
both for the present and the future^. 

Another letter on the same day by the same writer to 
Bernardino Maifeo, is more particular. Assuming the 
secretary to have been made acquainted with the tempest 
which had just happened, he proceeds to say, that he had 
calmed and improved it with such success, that their lord 
had a better handle than ever for justifiably transferring the 
council to some other place, without incurring any blame 
from any Christian prince. Achille was sent with infor- 
mation, which would fill a volume. From him might be 
understood the beginning, middle, and end of the tempest, 
and with how much reason the council might be, not sus- 
pended, which would be inconvenient and invidious, but 
transferred to a more secure place ; so that, without loss of 
time, matters might be settled, which then were interrupted 
and delayed, particularly as to doctrine, and specially that of 
justification; the emperor, notwithstanding the exertions of 
the legates, being unwilling that it should be determined so 
speedily, which is the true cause of all the insolency exercised 
in the two last congregations. Allowing the conduct of the 

* la causa giusta — per poter trasferire il concilio, &c. 

f certa burasca. 

+ presto trasferire legitimamente il concilio in un' altro luogo, &c. 



86 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



cardinal of Jaen to pass,, the gratuitous insult offered to a 
legate by the cardinal of Trent, patron of the place, from the 
mere passion to satisfy others, and keep the council fixed 
where he had invited it, was a more urgent cause of trans- 
ferring than any other existing, the thing being notorious, 
and done in the presence of the French ambassadors, and all 
the synod. But the most unpleasant circumstance was, the 
stain upon the honour of the cardinal of Trent, as it was 
necessary that his misconduct should appear as the cause of 
the translation, — a disgrace, for which there was no other 
remedy, since the legates could not continue in Trent con- 
sistently with their own honour, making a virtue of necessity, 
and endeavouring to find out other causes of their departure 
than the true one. In an addition to the Holy Father, he 
is informed that Monsignor Achille de' Grassi is sent to him 
to give him intelligence of all particulars. 

A letter of the 9th to the Camerlengho is urgent upon his 
holiness, not to suffer himself to be defrauded, by attention 
to subtleties, of the opportunity and justification then offered 
of transferring the council ; and, for that purpose, to com- 
mence practical and active measures. If that course be re- 
solved upon, it is added, many of the bishops prefer Siena to 
Lucca, as the seat of the translated council ; while others, 
particularly the French, are rather inclined to Ferrara. 

Another letter of the same date to Maffeo, written in the 
person of one of the legates, continues to press the translation 
still more urgently, as being absolutely necessary, and to 
which the emperor cannot object without a blush, having 
himself created the necessity by rendering the present place 
insecure. The writers argue, that to leave Trent is not to 
dissolve the council, which may, if necessary, return ; and 
that the reasons for leaving and returning will be widely dif- 
ferent. The synod may choose between the three places pro- 
posed. — There follows of the date of the next day a letter to 
Cardinal Farnese to precisely the same effect, referring to 
the pope's letter to Verallo, and the instructions given to the 
bishop of Fano for his regulation at the imperial court. But 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



87 



here is somewhat of a difficulty ; for Massarelli on this very 
day announces the departure of Cardinal Farnese from 
Trent, where he had been staying about a week, towards 
Germany, as legate a latere. In whatever way the dis- 
sonance is reconciled, it is of inferior importance ; but still 
for the sake of accuracy it should be stated. His holiness 
was concerting with the emperor more substantial and effec- 
tive arms against the heretics, than even conciliar anathemas. 

In a letter of the 11th to the Camerlengho, the legates 
complain of the calumnies which they suffered for doing their 
duty, and wish to be replaced by others, who would be more 
accommodating to the humour of such as desire to have 
every thing conducted in their own way. Before they leave 
the subject, however, they would justify themselves by the 
testimony of the prelates remaining at the place, and by an 
examination of those who have quitted it, by which truth 
will find its own place and guilt its proper author. They say 
they are unable to detain the Italians, and they are unwilling 
to be at the discretion of the Ultramontanes. They intend 
in the mean time to go on amusing the council, until they are 
made clear of his holiness's mind on the subjects of their 
present anxiety. In a postscript they complain of the con- 
tinued departures of the Italians, which would in time pro- 
duce an actual dissolution of the council, and that the whole 
blame was thrown upon them. 

The letter of the 12th to the same is remarkable for 
nothing but for that constantly repeated acknowledgment, 
that, waiting for the mind of their lord at Rome, they went 
on, until it came, entertaining the council with fictitious em- 
ployment*. 

At a general congregation of the 14th, the first president 
excused the long intermission of these meetings, of which 
the visit and sickness of Farnese was the cause ; and ex- 
horted the fathers not to depart from Trent from apprehen- 
sion on account of the war. On the proper subject of the 
assembly nothing was done, some of the members not having 

* fino al quale aviso ci andaremo trattenendo. 



88 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546 



had time to consider it, and others disliking the decree as 
then prepared. 

The next letter of the legates to the same person as the 
preceding one, dated the 14th of August, refers to the con- 
gregation just mentioned, which, they say, passed quietly. 
In consequence of the hostilities in Germany, processions 
and fasts, and other good works, to propitiate the Deity, 
were instituted. And the report having reached them, that 
indulgences of confessionals were published at Rome on 
this account, and sent to various places, while none came 
to Trent, every one marvelled, and was grieved. But, at all 
events, the council could not continue there any longer, 
without danger of dissolution, and other inconveniences. 

Another letter to the same on the 16th entreats, that his 
holiness would send them successors, as they cannot, with 
honour to him, or the apostolic see, nor with a quiet con- 
science, prolong their residence in a place which they were 
sensible was not free. 

On the 17th another congregation was held, in which the 
decree on Justification was universally disapproved, and a 
reformed, or new one, was declared necessary. It was 
decreed in this meeting, that a fast should be observed 
by the whole city for the success of the war against the 
heretics. 

A letter of the 17th, after observing, that the Bishop of 
Cava's place, as commissary, had been supplied, casts all the 
blame of the opposition to the decree of Justification upon 
the wish of the imperial prelates to prolong the discussion. 

From the summary we learn that on the morning of the 
19th, a procession was made from the church of the Trinity 
to that of the Blessed Maria Maggiore, where a solemn 
mass was celebrated, a sermon delivered, and a plenary 
indulgence published. 

The eight following letters in the collection before us, 
from the 20th to the 26th of August, inclusive, contain 
nothing which deserves separate notice. They are strongly 
expressive of the perplexity in which the legates found 



1546.] 



SESSION V 



89 



themselves. They and the whole company began to feel the 
effects of the unholy league, into which their sovereign and 
the imperial one had entered, for the subjection and de- 
struction of protestantism ; and probably all the parties flat- 
tered themselves, that it would be a matter, not of contest 
but of certainty. In this they were disappointed ; and the 
legates complain, that it was idle to talk of the distance of 
the war, when they saw troops passing and repassing. The 
bishops were naturally terrified. Instead of being able to re- 
tain them in their place until October, which was suggested, 
it was doubtful whether they could be kept there more 
than eight or ten days. Themselves were sons of obedience, 
said the legates, and only waited the clear commands of 
their master : but they were men, and wished for an early 
intimation of their fate, or that successors might be appointed 
them ; instead of being coolly forbidden to innovate. One 
letter is about a reformed decree of Justification sent to the 
theologians ; and the two last, one of them to Cardinal 
Pole, are about the very necessary subject of pecuniary re- 
mittances. 

On the 23th of August was a general congregation, in 
which was examined the article of the Certainty of Grace, 
or whether the Lutheran assertion respecting it should be 
condemned ; and the latter was determined upon. 

A letter of the same date to the Camerlengho reports the 
discussion to the same effect ; and adds, that some repre- 
sented the doctors of the Roman church as disagreeing upon 
the subject. The greater part, it is said, desired, that the 
decree should be conceived in such terms as to condemn the 
heretical view, and at the same time abstain from deciding 
the controversy between the scholastic doctors — a thing, 
which, although difficult, the legates attempted. 

There was a procession on the 8th, and litanies on the 
11th, for the success of the war against the Lutherans. 

On the 10th the legates wrote that, they kept labouring 
at the article of Justification : but add, still harping upon the 
one great question to them, that if the council is to continue 



90 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



where it was till October, they must beg to represent them- 
selves as incapable, (inhabili,) partly from indisposition and 
partly from remorse of conscience. On the 20th they affirm, 
that they had put the last hand to the article ; still urging 
translation of the council. 

On the 23d was a congregation, in which the secretary 
gives no other particulars than are noticed in the letter of the 
same date, where we are informed, that the new decree was 
read with universal approbation, and was to be sent to the 
theologians for the form ; on which form they request the 
opinion from Rome. On the 26th we learn, that the decree 
was polished by the theologians, so as to be fit for the session. 

After this date was a succession of general congregations, 
where the bishops delivered their opinions, as the time would 
allow. They had not finished until the 12th of October. 

The legates are a little more communicative; and in a 
letter of the 2d of October, describing the congregation of the 
1st, they say, that three bishops delivered their opinion. 
The first, from notes, objected to the immediate publication 
of the decree, on account of the little authority of the council 
and paucity of the prelates then present, urging likewise the 
representing clause. Another impressed upon the congre- 
gation the importance of the subject, in which every word 
and syllable should be weighed; and insisted, that if the 
decree were passed, there would be no hope of reducing the 
protestants ; and often urged the words in the proemium of 
the decree, that nothing more disturbs the church than de- 
pravity of manners, (nihil magis perturbet ecclesiam quam 
depravatio morum.) The third said nothing of consequence. 
The legates add, that they allow perfect liberty of speech, in 
order that people may discover their mind, and sometimes 
cut their own throat *, as well as to afford a pretence for 
translation. They wait to hear the rest. 

We have accordingly, in the next letter of the 6th to the 
same person, the Camerlengho, an account of two days' 

* per scoprire tutti li disegni et ancora perche vediamo darsi 

della zappa nel piede da se medesimi, &c. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



91 



congregations, the 5th and the 6th. The Spanish bishops, 
we are told, and some others, besides objections and cavils 
readily arising out of an extended subject, expressed their 
approbation of the opinion of Vigerio, bishop of Sinigaglia, 
as before reported, and which was premeditated and divided 
into three points, recommending, 1st, the representing 
clause, because so important a decree required all the autho- 
rity which could be given to it ; 2d, the delay of the pro- 
mulgation of the decree, because with that promulgation 
would perish all hope of reducing the Lutherans ; and 3rd, 
reformation, since abuses were the constant pretext of heresy, 
and most scandalized the world. This last charge, to which 
a reply was made by one bishop who sat among the 
Spaniards, was sorely aggravated by another of that nation, 
who added to it the fresh ones of the avarice and ambition 
of the church — points which required the principal atten- 
tion of the council. He was supported by three others who 
had to speak ; and never since the commencement of the 
council was such an instance seen of servile and undisguised 
conformity*. These three points are answered, — the 1st 
by observing, that the majority of votes was with them : the 
2d, by saying, that the time of promulgating the decree 
might be considered. But the 3d point was that with which 
they professed to find the greatest difficulty. And yet it was 
necessary to rebut the invidious charges of avarice and ambi- 
tion. They do it partly by recriminating upon the secular 
princes, whose interested motives in the collation of bene- 
fices were notorious. And yet they were fearful of offend- 
ing parties, and producing disturbance. They press an 
early reply from Rome ; and close the important part of a 
long letter with the following observable statement and re- 
quest. ' Your most reverend lordship perceives, that now 
' the council is treating de summa rerum ; and there are pre- 

* 1 n e dal giorno dell' aperitione del Concilio in qua sono stati mai 
tutti cosi conformi, e cosi alia scoperta. It would do the panegyrists of the 
council good to see how the members, when they speak freely, speak of one 
another. 



92 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



' lates here who would humble the apostolic see. We, there- 
e fore, with all reverence, suggest, that there should be sent 
' hither as many bishops as possible, especially such as have 
' reverence for the apostolic see, and are learned ; because 
s they will be serviceable both as to the matter under present 
( consideration, and for any other which may arise. Nor let 
' there be any regard to expense here ; since seasonable ex- 
' pense is a gain*.' 

On the 9th to the Camerlengho, who in the absence of 
Farnese in Germany is their uniform correspondent, the 
legates charge the imperial prelates with putting forward, 
as a pawn, the bishop of Sinigaglia, on the unpleasant sub- 
ject of the last letter, in order that they may represent it as 
originating with an Italian, and disclaim it as a concerted 
affair of their own, although it be a palpable conspiracy. 

A general congregation on the 12th of October entered on 
a new subject, connected with the main one, imputative 
righteousness, and the certainty of grace. These articles, 
it was recommended, should be well examined, both by the 
fathers and the theologians, in order that thence the truth 
might be more clearly established, and an end put to the 
many controversies, which on different points of these 
articles prevailed, not only among the heretics but among 
the catholics f. This resolution was approved by the 
fathers. 

The letter of the next day, confirming this representation 
of the secretary, observes, that the congregation, in putting 
the last hand to the decree in preparation, found two diffi- 
culties arise in their way. The legates give the two articles 
in more words, and in Latin. The first, they say, was of 

* Vede VS. Reverendissima che hora si tratta in concilio de summa 
rerum, e ci sono de' prelati che vorrebbero abassare la sede apostolica. Ri- 
cordiamo con ogni riverenza cbe si mandi quanto phi Vescovi si puo, massi- 
mamente riverenti verso la sede apostolica, e dotti, perche saranno utili a" 
quello cbe si tratta al presente, et ad ogn' altra cosa che si volesse fare : ne 
in cio si guardi a spesa, perche lo spendere in tempo e guadagno. 

+ It is instructive to read these repeated admissions of variation of 
opinion, ou important subjects, in the church of exclusive unity. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



93 



the certainty of grace for the present state, (pro present! 
statu;) the second,, how far the justified ought to rest upon 
inherent righteousness, whether by that they can be 
judged righteous before the tribunal of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, or, as imperfect, it requires to be supplied by the 
righteousness of the same our Lord Jesus Christ to be com- 
municated and applied to them. It is of great importance, 
they say, to settle these questions, and to state the decision 
clearly in the decree, in order to terminate the dissensions 
among catholics themselves. The questions therefore were 
given to the theologians this day. 

The theological congregations began their meetings ac- 
cordingly, and the foregoing questions, with other allied 
ones, were discussed by them. They met nine days to- 
gether, Sundays excepted. On the tenth, October 26, they 
terminated. It is not of adequate importance to repeat 
the respective votes on the subject. The unity was far 
from complete. 

On the 27th, Cardinal Pole, who had been detained from 
the council by ill health, formally resigned his legation; 
and from henceforth there were only two legates. 

A letter of the 30th of October reports the minute dis- 
cussion of the two articles by the theologians; and it ob- 
serves, that parties were divided between those who sought 
despatch, and those who sought delay. They trusted to 
get the decree settled and concluded upon, and forty out of 
sixty voted with them. 

The preparation of the decree of justification kept pro- 
ceeding; and on the 6th of November we have a letter, 
which, while it represents the politics of the two rival sove- 
reigns on the subject, strongly represents the value which 
the legates put upon the privilege which they had assumed, 
and hitherto without contradiction, of proposing the subjects 
to be discussed in the congregations. Upon the question 
of suspension, they affirm, that they have the majority, that 
is the Italian prelates, on their side ; and wish to know from 
his holiness whether they should propose it, since the pro- 



94 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



posal from any bishop would not be allowed, ' we/ they add, 
' having, in an especial manner, always kept this rod of 
' office firm in our hands, to let no one invade our office of 
' proposing. We do not therefore think, that, the affair can 
' succeed, except we ourselves, with a flag on the mast, ac- 
' cording to the proverb, propose it*.' 

In a letter of the 8th the legates testify the progress of 
the decree ; and in one of the 10th, they detail certain sen- 
timents delivered by Pacecco, cardinal of Jaen, who was not 
a regular attendant, one of which, and the cause of some 
disturbance, was, the suggestion of his sovereign, Charles, 
that the opinions of the universities of Paris and Louvain 
should be requested. This was deemed quite unreasonable 
after so long protracted debates upon the subject, and when 
the Italians were threatening to leave ; nor very honourable 
to the council. The indignation at sending to the univer- 
sities before-mentioned, overflows into the next letter; al- 
though it says, the proposal appeared to some as if it were 
excellent, and reasonable, and expedient, and necessary. 

The next is a remarkable epistle of the date of the 16th 
of November, to the Pontiff by his grandson, Cardinal 
Farnese, who, on his return from Germany, was staying 
at Trent. On coming to Trent the cardinal says, that he 
was desirous of understanding the affairs of the council, and 
for that purpose assembled the two legates, with the Car- 
dinal of Trent and Don Diego. At one of his conferences 
with these illustrious individuals, except one, after having 
urged the present superlative importance to Christianity 
of a good understanding between his holiness and the em- 
peror, he proposed three things, which they should resolve 
upon that day, when their whole number met — 1. That as 
the decree was now nearly in a state of readiness, it should 
be considered whether it were expedient to publish it in 
company with the decree of residence, or to wait until it 
might be seen whether the proposal of consulting the uni- 

* havendo massimaraente noi tenuta ferma sempre questa bochetta 

in mano di non volere che altri faccia 1' officio nostro di proporre. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



95 



versities would succeed — 2. Whether, if the decree of jus- 
tification were deferred, that of residence should be proposed, 
or his holiness by a bull grant, all reasonable authority to 
the bishops — 3. What course the council would have to 
pursue, if, in deference to his majesty, the translation 
should be laid aside. Should the decree of justification be 
published, there will be these difficulties, that the council 
being principally called on account of the heresies of Ger- 
many *, and none of that province, catholics or Lutherans, 
being present at the discussion of that important article, 
it cannot be expected that the healing effects which were 
anticipated will be realized, but rather the contrary, since 
the coercive measures of war have been adopted. On the 
other hand, to omit the publication of the decree would be 
to encounter the ridicule of having been half a year em- 
ployed in a discussion, of which there was no practical re- 
sult, as well as the injury to the many souls in Italy, France, 
Spain, and other countries, which would be consoled by the 
publication of a decree, securing them from the hazard of 
receiving false doctrines instead of good, from their preachers 
and confessors. This dignified company of five therefore 
agreed that it would be a less evil to settle the decree and 
decline its immediate publication, since they were able to 
provide against the inconveniences which were apprehended. 
And as to being responsible for the souls which may die in 
heresy, a remedy may be found in the personal exertions 
of bishops and generals of orders in the infected portions of 
Germany, and of theologians in other parts, by teaching 
the true doctrine. On residence the same course is recom- 
mended as was before suggested ; and in the case of abandon- 
ing the translation of the council a suspension is proposed, 
and that for the term of six months, rather than an inde- 
finite one. 

In a letter, the next, of the 17th, to the Camerlengho, 
assurance is repeated, that the decree of justification is in 
active progress, the emperor's consent alone being waited 
* It was afterwards convenient to say the same thing of France. 



96 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



for to the proposal of the six months' suspension. The 
writers, however, venture to intimate an obstacle in his 
holiness's manifested wish, that the decree should forthwith 
be published, and the council make its course to a speedy 
close : one great reason being, that his holiness's treasury 
could not support, at the same time, the demands both of 
the war and of the council. 

The next letter is occupied with the proposed six months' 
suspension ; and it is suggested, that the term may be re- 
peated as often as is desirable. And this, which appears 
to be the absorbing subject at the present, with all the 
crooked politics connected with such transactions, continues 
to be subject of the following, in which the legates seem 
apprehensive, naturally enough, that they may be suspected, 
under the name of suspension, of seeking, not only the re- 
moval, but the total extinction, of the council. 

On the same subject, a letter of the 23rd acquaints us, 
that the legates could number a majority of votes in their 
favour: but, it is confessed, they were all of one nation, 
(Italian,) while the opponents were all the Spaniards, the 
French, a Portuguese, a Scot, a Goth, Sicilians, Sardi- 
nians *, and some Italians. 

A letter of the 27th announces, that the decree of justifi- 
cation is still advancing; but that some new comers yet 
remain to be heard. 

On the 1st of December the legates write, that they had 
heard of the emperor's appointment of January the 2d next 
for the diet of Nuremburg, but that the intelligence was 
uncertain. But they add, that at the date of their letter all 
speaking on the decree of justification had terminated. 

This appears to have been the case, from what we find ill 
Massarelli : for, on that day, he affirms the same thing, and 
adds, that there was likewise, and subsequently, but on the 
same day, appointed a deputation of four to collect the cen- 
sures of the fathers, which they divided into three classes* 



* Sardi. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



97 



the light, the grave, and the gravest *. These deputies met 
on the next day, and decided, that the graver censures should 
be submitted to all the fathers. 

The epistolary document discovers, that Cardinal Farnese 
had left Trent, by a letter addressed to him as usual on the 
3d of December ; and he continues the correspondent of the 
legates to the end of our collection. This letter recognizes a 
general congregation f of the same day, in which were read 
nine annotations on the decree of justification ; but it is in- 
tended to ascertain the mind of the synod on the 8th by 
placet or non placet, without discussion, as the matters had 
already been fully discussed. Minor annotations, however, 
were added. Three of the imperial prelates, it is said, deter- 
mined to oppose the suspension, although the emperor 
should agree to it. 

The congregations were still at work : but the details 
are so easily and certainly anticipated, and reported in so 
meagre a way by the secretary, that it is not of adequate 
importance to repeat them. 

The legates on the 11th of December write, that they 
had been sedulously employed with the deputies in this 
work, and hoped to conclude in a few days. 

On the 13th was a congregation of deputies, in which the 
grave censures on the subject before them were discussed, 
and the opinions were not unanimous. It was proposed, 
whether, in justification, fear precede hope ; and after long 
disputation the affirmative was concluded: likewise, whe- 
ther detestation of sin precede hope, as predisposing to 
justification, since it cannot be destitute of hope, and 
some delight in the object, if hope follow. Other questions 
of the same intricate and unessential character were the 
subject of several future discussions, which now became 
frequent. On the 15th, however, the canons came under 
examination. This we likewise learn from a letter of the 
day. They were re-examined on the next day. And on 

* Leves, graves et gravissimas. 
f The congregation appears in Massarelli. 

H 



98 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



the 17th, the day after, there was a general congregation 
of theologians, who disputed very diffusely on the reasons, 
why Paul affirms, that a man is justified by faith, when 
many other things are required in justification. But as the 
fathers differed, nothing was concluded, and the question 
was referred to the congregation of the next day. On the 
same day, however, there was a general congregation, in 
which was started the question, whether any thing should 
be decided on the certainty of grace ; but it was determined 
that at present the Lutheran heresy alone should be con- 
demned. But on this, and the main question, the fathers 
were so discordant and opiniative, that it was judged they 
could not condemn their opponents without great scandal. 

On the 18th, (falsely written 19th,) was a congregation 
of theologians, who disputed at great length, in endeavour- 
ing to find a perpetual consent of the catholic church in the 
interpretation of those words of Paul, We believe that a 
man is justified by faith, &c. since the fathers disagreed : 
it was concluded to select words applicable to" all (kind 
of) justification to be inserted in the 8th chapter of the 
decree *. 

The next day, the 19th, and Sunday, was written a letter, 
in which the legates inform their correspondent, that on the 
17th they had proposed in the congregation the doctrine of 
the certainty of grace, and they obtained by two-thirds of 
the votes, that only the heretics should be condemned, and 
the difference of the catholics on that head be allowed to 
stand over, in order that the decree of justification might be 
published as soon as possible f . On the morrow it was in- 

* Sabbati 19 [18] Dbris. Hora 16 fit congregatio prelatorum Theologo- 
rum, qui defuisse [diffuse] disputaruut in inveniendo perpetuo consensu 
Catholicae ecclesiae in interpretandis illis verbis Pauli, arbitramur, &c. quo- 
niam patres varii erant : tandem conclusum est, ut inveniantur verba [et] 
ponantur in octavo capite decreti, quae verba ad omnem justificationem 
referri possint, &c. 

f e la differenza ch' e fra Cattolici in questo capo si lasciasse stare 

per adesso accioche il decreto della giustificatione si possa tanto piu presto 
publicare, &c. 



1546 ] 



SESSION VI. 



99 



tended to propose residence, and the appointment of the 
13th of January next for the next session. 

This, it appears from the summary, was done ; and at a 
date of the same day is extant a letter of considerable 
length, and some importance. The purport of the letter is, 
that the cardinals of Trent and of Jaen had represented to 
the legates from the emperor, their master, his desire, that 
the publication of the decree of justification should be 
deferred, from a consideration of the state of affairs in Ger- 
many, and his opinion, that it would be desirable to call in 
the aid of some able men of the universities of Paris and 
Louvain, as it did not seem good to send the decree to those 
universities : and this, the cardinals said, because there 
had already been printed in Germany one of the draughts of 
the decree, from which it appeared, that there were many 
things in it which did not please *, and which ought to be 
better considered. Respecting residence, they represented 
his majesty as desiring, that his Beatitude would satisfy the 
reasonable expectations of the bishops, particularly of his 
empire. Against the proposed suspension, their sovereign 
had the same objection as against the translation, of the 
synod ; especially as he had hopes of reducing the whole of 
Germany to submit to the determination of the council, 
which suspension would convert into a mockery. The 
legates answered, that they considered the three points as 
inseparable, and that it was not possible therefore to defer 
the publication of the decree of justification, without break- 

* This probably refers to the professed publication of that decree in a 
very scarce book and in the same year. — Acta Concil. Trid. anno MDXLVI. 
celebrati : una cum annotationibus piis. &c. Item, ratio, &c. per Philippum 
Melanchthonem, MDXLVI. The latter work alone is Melanchthon's. To 
whom the annotations and publication are to be ascribed Schelhorn is igno- 
rant, and I cannot discover. The true decree it cannot be, because the 
session which passed it did not sit till next year. It is probably one of the 
first draughts, of which copies were sent to the theologians, and which 
being disapproved, another was adopted, which appears in all the editions 
as the decree of the council : but the other was not properly false. A copy 
by some means got into the hands of the reformers. The annotations are 
verv severe. 

H 2 



100 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[I54G. 



ing up the council, with disgrace to his holiness, his majesty, 
and themselves, together with the irreparable injury of souls, 
which were daily falling into the nets of heresy ; that regard 
was to be had, not only to Germany, totally apostate, but to 
the neighbouring nations, Italy, France, Spain, and all the 
rest of Christendom ; that the necessity of speedy publica- 
tion was the more urgent, from the information of their 
lordships, that a false decree was published in Germany, 
which rendered more indispensable the publication of the 
true ; and that it was superfluous to send to the universities 
for divines, when they had the whole college together at 
Trent, and councils derive their authority, not from the men 
assembled in them, but from God and the apostolic see, 
On the article of residence the legates decline any present 
answer. The rest of the letter is very verbose, and not 
very intelligible, but the non-importance of it is intelligible 
enough : it terminates with the earnest hope, that the coun- 
cil will speedily come to a total end *. Pacecco suggested, 
that the day of session should not be absolutely settled, 
until the remaining points of the decree of justification, and 
the appendices of that of residence, were digested. 

The acts of the theological congregations sufficiently dis- 
play the embarrassment of the doctors of Rome in ascer- 
taining the doctrine of their own church upon w T hat must at 
least be esteemed a cardinal article of Christianity; and how 
much that embarrassment was occasioned and aggravated by 
the rules which they found it necessary to prescribe to them- 
selves in conducting the inquiry. Scanty and perfunctory 
as are the notices of the secretary, we learn from him, that 
in four successive and not . very distant meetings of the 
divines, the first of them, on the 21st of December, exhibits 
these oracles of catholic theology as labouring in finding out 
a perpetual consent of the church in the interpretation of the 
words of Paul, who appearsf to attribute so much to faith in 

* al total fine. We are almost reminded of the ' total of the whole' 

of one of our senators by this expression, 
f ! videtur. 



1546.] 



SESSION VI. 



101 



justification; and they all agreed and approved, that we are 
said to be justified by faith, because faith is the beginning of 
human salvation, the foundation and root of all justification*; 
for without faith it is impossible to please God, or to be 
taken into the number of his children. They laboured after 
the same consent of the fathers, the next day, on the ex- 
pression, that we are justified freely without worksf; and 
they all agreed, that the term e freely' signifies, that no 
works preceding justification deserve the grace itself of justi- 
fication. On the next day, the 23d, there was a long contest 
whether the glory of Christ, and eternal life, were the final 
cause, (or object,) of justification : the affirmative was agreed 
to, prefixing ' of God.' The fathers likewise strongly dis- 
puted, whether faith had any place as a cause of justification. 
On this point they could not agree ; and therefore adjourned 
the debate. That was resumed on the 28th, when, after 
diffuse disputation, it was agreed, that faith is not to be es- 
teemed a cause, and that enough is ascribed to it in various 
parts of the decree. 

On the 29th of December was a general congregation, in 
which the day of the future session was finally and absolutely 
fixed for the day originally suggested, the 13th of January, 
1547. There was some difference of opinion upon the subject. 

The next letter of the same day repeats this resolution of 
the congregation, which pleased two-thirds of the assembled 
fathers. On the subject of residence, it would be better, say 
the legates, that his holiness by a bull should declare, that 
with certain favours he invited the bishops to residence, than 
to allow a decree to be made at Trent, particularly if the 
bull contained what they most desired, to abolish the exemp- 
tions of the chapters. If the bull should not come in time, 
they must dispute about impediments and provisions, not to 
appear to be trifling with the synodj : if it arrive, they will 

* quia fides est humanae salutis initium, fundamentum, ac radix 

omnis justificationis, &c. 
f gratis sine operibus. 

+ anzi fino a tanto che la bolla non viene semo forzati a disputare 

qui 1' impedimentij e le provisioni per non parere di dar parole al sinodo, &c. 



102 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1546. 



adopt it, and doubt not, that it will be generally acceptable ; 
but if, after sufficient allowance of time, they are still 
without it, they would make a decree within the bounds of 
their commission. The occupation of continued congrega- 
tions, to complete the decree of justification, did not allow 
them leisure for writing, but they hoped to do so shortly. 
They add a postscript, in which they say, that the chief ob- 
jectors to the time fixed for the next session were the 
Spaniards ; but the bishop of , Worcester was one, at which 
they wonder, as they had always found him attentive to 
what he knew to be the mind of his holiness and ourselves*. 

A theological congregation was held on the last day of the 
year, in which parts of the decree of Justification were 
examined and approved. It was likewise concluded, that 
the assertion of St. James, that a man is justified by works 
and not by faith only, speaks only of the second justification, 
that is, of works done after justification-)-. On the question, 
whether resolutions are to be included in the good works, by 
which justification is furthered, it was determined, that they 
are not comprehended under the name of good worksj. 

The letter of the same day refers to a general congre- 
gation of the 30th, (which was not noticed as it stands in 
the summary, because it contains merely undecided questions 
relative to the punishment of non-residence.) The letter 
charges the opponents of the determination of the day of the 
next session, with indulging themselves in various exaggera- 
tions on the fruitful matter of reformation. The legates 
themselves were quite overwhelmed with necessary business 
and incapable of any thing else. But they wished to have a 
bull of reformation with a proemium to animate to residence, 
and with it a breve, either to give them authority to consent 
to determinations which they approved, or to instruct them 

* ■ osservante di quel che ha conosciuto mente, &c. This was Richard 

Pates. There is an account of him in Wood's Athenae Oxon. ii. last edition. 

f de secunda justiiicatione, hoc est de operibus quae fiunt post justi- 

ficationem . 

X " consilia augetur. 



1547. J 



ESSION VI. 



103 



particularly respecting the complaints made by the bishops 
of impediments proceeding from the court of Rome. More 
particular suggestions are added respecting the form of the 
breve. A postscript to the Beatissimo Padre himself conveys 
a pressing appeal to the generosity of his holiness in behalf 
of the cardinal of Trent, in consideration of the expense of 
the council to him, and the importance of that assembly to 
the interests of the faith and all Christendom ; and suggests 
that 10,000 crowns will not be regarded as more than an 
adequate remuneration. 

Here, with regret, we part with the services of the volume 
of letters, from which we have drawn so liberally and 
beneficially. 

We are, for the present, and for original matter, reduced 
to one assistant, the minute, and, it appears, accurate 
secretary. 

He commences the 1st day of the new year, with an ac- 
count of a congregation of theological prelates, who, as the 
time to the session was contracting apace, spared neither 
time nor labour in prosecuting their work. They accordingly 
examined four chapters of the decree of Justification, with 
the censures of the general congregation, particularly that, 
whether it be simply true, that faith is lost by unbelief, 
since blessed Peter, who denied the faith with an oath, yet 
lost not his faith. It was nevertheless concluded, that it 
was lost. On the same day, that of the future session was 
published, as before stated, in a form which is subjoined. 

On the 2d of January, a theological congregation examined 
some clauses in the 16th, the last, chapter of the doctrinal 
decree. 

On the two succeeding days general congregations consi- 
dered the reformation article of residence. 

On the 5th, the theologians concluded, upon the doctrinal 
article, the clauses in the last chapter ; and considered the 
censures of the canons, ten of which were approved. 

They settled fifteen more the next day : the following one 
gave them some difficulty. 



104 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



On the next day, however, the 7th of January, they com- 
pleted the canons to their mind. The general congregation 
on the same day exerted themselves on the subject of 
residence. 

On the 8th of the month the divines repeated their labours 
on the certainty of grace ; and the general congregation 
employed itself in its province of residence. 

On the 9th, Sunday, the theologians settled, that no one 
can be certain with such a certainty of faith, as that nothing 
false can be found in it, of the grace of God. The occupa- 
tion of the other congregation on residence was not quite so 
consonant to the sanctity of the day. 

On Monday the 10th, the same congregation pursued the 
same subject ; and on the next day it was assisted by a 
congregation of canonists — at a later hour the decree of 
Justification was approved by all to the glory of God. So 
our author expresses himself. 

On the 12th of January, it was proposed to the theolo- 
gians, whether, in the 6th chapter of the doctrinal decree, 
fear should precede hope; and after long debate it was 
agreed, that it should so stand. In a general congregation 
of the same day the opinions on residence were various; 
but in the approbation of the decree of Justification they 
were unanimous. The next day was the day of the Sixth 
Session. 

The Sixth Session was celebrated on the 13th of Janu- 
ary, 1547, in the cathedral as usual. After the accustomed 
service and an oration by the bishop of Salpi, the decrees 
were published. 

The first, and the doctrinal one, was of Justification. 

It contained sixteen chapters. The doctrine is stated in 
this detail in strict conformity with the intimations which have 
appeared in the preparatory congregations, and with a conside- 
rable degree of subtlety and plausibility, yet distinctly enough 
expressing the qualifications and exceptions, by which the 
doctrine of scripture is defeated, and that of the church of 
Rome supported. As containing the essence of this decree, 



1547.] 



SESSION VI. 



105 



and applying it to the important purpose of condemning pre- 
sumed errors on the subject thirty-three canons are subjoined, 
each with an annexed anathema of course. The ninth and the 
two last are perhaps the most noticeable, the last but one in 
particular, which runs thus : — c If any one shall say, that the 
' good works of a justified man are so the gifts of God, that 
( they are not likewise the good merits of the justified man ; 
' or that that justified man by the good works which are done 
' by him through the grace of God and the merit of Jesus 
f Christ, of whom he is a living member, does not truly deserve 
* increase of grace and eternal life, and the attainment of 
f that eternal life, if indeed he depart in a state of grace, and 
' even an increase of glory, — let him be anathema*.' 

The last canon binds under its curse all who affirm that 
the doctrine, as stated, derogates in any degree from the 
glory of God, and the merits of Christ, or that the truth is 
not by the decree clearly explained to the divine glory. 

This decree, the secretary adds, was unanimously ap- 
proved by all — his own pleonasm — and then was recited the 
reformation decree of residence. 

This decree consists of five chapters. It acknowledges 
the depraved morals of both clergy and laity, and exhorts 
the principal orders of the church to attend to the sacred 
duties of their office, enforcing residence by a renewal of 

* There is something strange in the beginning of this canon : si quis 
dixerit hominis justificati bona opera ita esse dona Dei, ut non sint etiam 
bona ipsius justificati merita, &c. : is opera to be understood after bona ? 
and what are good merits ? And what is the difference at the end between 
-vitam aeternam and the vitae aeternae consecutionem ? We may just ob- 
serve, that possibly the fathers of the council would have been more yield- 
ing on the subject of human merits, had not the whole credit of the papal 
bank of indulgences been endangered by any concession on that point. For, 
unless the treasury be supplied, the reservoir replenished, by the constant 
influx of the merits of the saints, great reason would there be to fear, from 
the unintermitted demands made upon it, that it would, in time at least, be 
exhausted, and all the spiritual benefits to the faithful, as well as the more 
substantial returns to the apostolic chest, be lost. Lutherana haeresis multa 
nobis ornamenta et commoda concussit et labefactavit, hoc vero quod ex 
indulgentiis capiebamus, prorsus disjecit, et sustulit. Actiones Duae, &c. 
(a P. P. Vergerio) 1559, fol. 71, verso. 



106 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



the canons, and denouncing in the different gradations of 
non-residence the forfeiture of portions of the revenue of the 
see, and in extreme cases removal and substitution of 
another. It enjoins the duty of residence next upon the 
inferior orders in the church, who are to be constrained to the 
performance of it by the law, except in cases of dispensa- 
tion for reasonable causes by the holy see. Ecclesiastical 
superiors are to correct their subjects ; and both the secular 
clergy and the regulars, when living out of their monaste- 
ries, may be punished by the bishop of the place, as dele- 
gate of the holy see. The exemption of chapters from the 
jurisdiction of their ordinary is withdrawn. And, finally, 
no one bishop is to intrude upon the functions of another. 

Upon this decree Massarelli observes, that the opinions of 
the fathers were various, and many exhibited written papers ; 
so that nothing certain could at that time be determined. 
In a general congregation, however, on the 25th of Febru- 
ary, as it appeared, on examination, that the decree was 
approved by the majority, it was pronounced to be approved 
and to be held as approved The contumacy of the absent 
bishops was accused, with an exception in favour of the 
German bishops lawfully detained ; and the severest penalties 
were denounced against those who should leave the council 
without licence. 

The 3rd of March was appointed for the next session. 

Fifty- seven prelates were present. 

The protestants, writes the author of the Diary, in exact 
agreement with the Venetian history, by whatever hypo- 
thesis their agreement, as far as it exists, is to be accounted 
for, excepted against the grammar in the 5th chapter of 
the first decree, where, in the language in which the decree 
is written, Latin, two negatives are used to the effect of 
one. Another inaccuracy is stated in the 7th chapter. 
Some who were conversant in history, observed, that from 
the time of Christ to the present, no council had decided so 
many articles as were decided in that one session ; and 
that the fathers in their definitions were greatly indebted to 



1547.] 



SESSION VI. 



107 



Aristotle, for having so diligently distinguished all kinds of 
causes. Politicians complained, that, in the 11th chapter 
and the 20th canon, while obedience was enjoined to the 
precepts of God and the church, that due to temporal 
princes was pretermitted. The decree of Reformation was 
treated as a simple illusion ; since any beneficed cleric with 
cure of souls might, purchase non-residence for a year 
by consenting to lose half his yearly income, and reasonable 
causes for dispensation might easily be fabricated. The 
author adds, that the celebrated opponents, Soto and Cate- 
rino, both published books, addressed to the synod, expla- 
natory of the doubtful expression in the decrees, yet with- 
out deposing any portion of their original opposition. 

On so important a doctrine as that of Justification by 
faith alone without works, the very key-stone of protestant- 
ism, I am invited by what precedes to offer a few observa- 
tions. It is impossible, point by point, in the argument of 
a portion of scripture the most honourable to the original 
church of Rome, to peruse the epistle to that church, 
without perceiving, that in the Justification of man before 
his Maker, faith, alone and simply, is represented as the 
means on the part of man, by which the blessing is to be 
obtained. It is impossible to avoid seeing, that the law, 
by the transgression of which the whole world, heathen as 
well Hebrew, is constituted guilty and thrown upon the 
divine mercy, and the exclusion of which from furnishing by 
its works, or obedience to it, a claim to justification in any 
shape, is absolutely affirmed, is the universal law, including 
that of Moses to the Jew, and that of nature or tradition to 
the gentile : not, therefore, a ceremonial law f by which, as 
heathens are concerned, it is absurd to suppose they could 
pretend or hope to be justified, but the entire law, and pre- 
eminently the moral law, or the most excellent, the moral, 
part of the law. The apostle could talk of no other to 
heathens ; and he addresses himself equally to them. It is 
not imaginable by what terms works, or merits, in the office 
of justification, could be more pointedly and effectually ex- 



108 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



eluded than is done in the Epistle directed to the Romans. 
The apostle has asserted the doctrine,, separated from every 
thing in man deserving justification, absolutely, without qua- 
lification or exception. Lest it should be supposed, that 
there were any tacit or implied one, the most hopeful of all 
claimants — moral works, or charity, whether united with, 
or included in, faith, — he expressly marks this very claim- 
ant for exclusion. He distinguishes his doctrine by its 
being destructive of all boasting : ' where is boasting ? it is 
' excluded : by what law ? of works ? no ; but by the law of 
'faith*' He again distinguishes it by its very nature, as 
being by grace, the very essence of which is destroyed by the 
alliance of works in any shapef. But why are moral works 
contended for, except for their real, their intrinsic value, and 
their consequently affording the truest matter of boasting ? 
And this is the precise ground upon which they are ex- 
pressly and preeminently excluded. No one could be more 
zealous than St. Paul for the necessity of good works as 
accompanying justifying faith : but we have seen, that no 
one could be more zealous in excluding them altogether in 
the office of justifying. The divine essence and honour of 
the scriptural doctrine of Justification are, that it is purely 
and literally by grace, without being merited by any human 
works, and most effectually destructive of all human boast- 
ing. 



Session VII. 

PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 

Doctrine : Sacraments in General, Baptism and Confirmation. — Reformation: 
Cathedrals, Benefices, &c. — Bull for Translation. 

The legates had intimated, that the subject of the Sacra- 
ments should next in order come under the attention of the 
council ; and as the fathers had already decided, that bap- 



* iii. 27. 



f xi.6. 



1547.] 



SESSION VII. 



109 



tism, which to the recipient takes the lead of all the rest, is 
identical with, or productive of, the first Justification, there 
certainly was a propriety in giving the place of immediate 
succession in their deliberations to the Sacraments. 

Two days after the last session, on the 15th of January, 
1547, met the first general congregation ; and there were 
read the votes of that session on Residence, which being 
found to be various, a deputation of prelatic canonists was 
appointed, in order to consider the subject. The title of 
the council was again discussed ; and the attempt was re- 
newed to introduce the representing clause. All, however, 
agreed to the formation of a canon condemning the Lutheran 
assertion on the subject before them. 

With the intervention of a single day, another general con- 
gregation was held. The articles for consideration then 
proposed were, the Sacraments in general, and those of 
Baptism and Confirmation in particular ; as well as the 
errors connected with the Sacraments, which in the first 
place were to be examined by the minor theologians, accord- 
ing to the custom hitherto observed in the council. Impedi- 
ments to Residence were exhibited ; and the fathers were 
directed to send for copies of the articles, and impediments, 
which were distributed the next day, the 18th *. 

The pretensions of the bishops, writes the diarist, and 
particularly the Spanish ones, for residence and the restora- 
tion of episcopal authority to its primitive state, were re- 
newed. The legate del Monte acknowledged the import- 
ance of the subject, but as it was a grave one, he wished 
that his holiness should be consulted, who, with the advan- 
tages which he could command at Rome, might be able to 
assist the council in its determinations. It was resolved to 
remove the impediments to residence. Among the principal 
was, plurality of benefices ; since it was impossible that one 
man should be in more places than one at the same time. 
When the sacraments were discussed, a catalogue of the 

* Thus far the accurate secretary, who unites in correcting the date of 
the first congregation, which Fra Paolo called the next day after the session. 



110 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



conclusions of the Lutherans was introduced, and some 
debate ensued, Saints Bernard and Cyprian being alleged 
as calling the washing of the feet a sacrament, and Augus- 
tine as affirming the same of every act by which Christ is 
honoured. 

On the 20th, (returning to the secretary,) the congrega- 
tion of minor theologians met ; and fourteen c Articles of 
f heretics on the subject of the sacraments in general * were 
submitted to them. To these succeeded, ' Errors of the 
c Lutherans concerning the sacrament of baptism,' to the 
number of seventeen. The list is closed with the ' Errors 
* of the Lutherans concerning the sacrament of confirmation,' 
of which there are four. All these articles are given at 
length in the summary : but since they likewise appear in 
the history of Fra Paolo, it is not necessary to adduce them 
in the present work. One article, however, in the first cata- 
logue, the 13th, has attracted particular attention, even from 
the writer of the Diary, and has therefore a legitimate claim 
to our notice. It stands thus: Intentionem ministrorum 
non requiri, nihilque agere in sacramentis — the intention of 
ministers is not necessary and does nothing in the sacra- 
ments. 

It was necessary that the fathers should condemn this 
proposition, because it was directly opposed to the decision 
of the council of Florence. Caterino, bishop of Minori, 
however, took the heretical side of the question ; and affirmed, 
that the sacrament was valid, independently of the intention 
of the administrator, if it were administered with the due 
rites. He founded his argument in part upon the alleged 
narration of Sozomen, that some boys amusing themselves 
on the sea shore elected Athanasius a bishop, who conferred 
baptism upon some of the same age, which coming to the 
ears of the bishop of Alexandria, he considered the fact of 
so serious a nature, that inquiring whether the youths had 
been previously baptized, and finding that they had not, 
and that the rite had been performed in due form, he pro- 
nounced the sacrament valid. Although no attention was 



1547.] 



SESSION VII. 



Ill 



paid to the opinion of this bishop in the decision of the next 
session upon the subject, he did not fail to defend his senti- 
ment in print, and to insist, that the council and himself 
were in perfect agreement, and that its decree should be 
interpreted conformably. 

This is the amount of what is recorded in the Diary. The 
Venetian historian has the argument in much more extended 
detail, and with much superior material. According to this 
authority, the bishop pressed the point closely, and would 
not be satisfied with the explanation, that the intention ex- 
tended no farther than to do what the church intended * ; 
for even that intention might be absent; and then all the 
sacraments administered under those circumstances would 
be null ; nor in any case was it possible to know, that this 
was not the fact. This doctrine does indeed render the 
papal population perfectly dependent upon the good will of 
the priest, but at what an expense ! The annotator as well 
as translator of the great historian of the council has ob- 
served, that the opinion of the Roman church on this sub- 
ject was in his time practically abandoned by her members. 
This is very probably the fact at the present time ; and with 
respect not only to this doctrine but to the great body of the 
peculiar theology of Romanism. Outraged reason has fled 
to hypocrisy for protection : she could not do otherwise. 
And while prefixed to the missal there stands, and will stand 
as long as Rome lasts, De defectibus in celebratione missarum 
occurrentibus, the priest of the Italian communion must 
either believe the impostures of his church, or become an 
impostor himself by pretending so to do, and inviting others 
to do the same j\ 

On the same day as the last congregation was held, the 
20th, a deputation of prelates who were canonists was ap- 

* What do you believe ? What the Church believes. But what does the 
Church believe ? What I do. Then what do you both believe ? I do not 
know. 

f See the able ' Historical Discourse concerning the necessity of the Mi- 
* nister's Intention in administering the Sacraments,' anonymous, but by the 
justly celebrated Allix, published in tbe year of terror and deliverance, 1G88. 



112 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



pointed to examine the subject of reformation ; and their 
names are given by the secretary. From that day to the 
29th inclusive, congregations of these and of the theologians, 
assembled in their distinct and appropriate provinces, the 
first to occupy themselves with matters falling under the 
head of reformation, residence, pluralities, annexation of 
churches and benefices, exemptions, &c. : the others to ex- 
amine the particular doctrine then in a state of preparation 
for the adoption of the council at its next session. No par- 
ticulars are given of their proceedings ; and they were no 
doubt diligently employed. 

On the 31st of January, however, a new subject was in- 
troduced at a general congregation, after what had been 
done at the preceding ones had been considered, namely, 
the sacrament of the Eucharist, upon which certain articles 
of heretics were examined, and at a later part of the day 
communicated to all the fathers. 

On the 3d of February was a congregation of the minor 
theologians, who began to examine the articles of heretics 
on the eucharist. They were ten in number. It was, it 
should seem, expected, that this, as well as the two preced- 
ing sacraments, would be settled at the ensuing session, which 
was not the case. The examination, however, was pursued 
in succeeding congregations before that session. The ar- 
ticles are given at length in the summary ; and as I do 
not find them in either of the Tridentine historians I will 
give their sense at least in this place. The 1st is, that in 
the eucharist there is not truly the body and blood of Christ, 
but only as in a sign, in the same manner as wine is said to 
be in the sign of an inn, (in circula ante tabernam;) 2, that 
Christ is there exhibited, but spiritually' only, to be eaten by 
faith ; 3, that the body and blood are together with (simul 
cum) the substance of the bread and wine, so that there is 
no transubstantiation, but a hypostatic union of the humanity 
and the substance of bread and wine ; 4, that Christ is not 
to be adored or venerated with festivals in the eucharist, nor 
to be carried about in processions, nor brought to the sick, 



1547.] 



SESSION VII. 



113 



and that the adorers of it (ejus) are real idolaters ; 5, that 
the eucharist is not to be kept in the sacrarium, but to be 
eaten at the time, and given to those present, and that those 
who do otherwise abuse the sacrament ; 6, that in the hosts, 
or consecrated particles (wafers) remaining after commu- 
nion, the body of Christ does not remain, but exists only 
when taken, and neither before nor after; 7, that it is of di- 
vine right to communicate in both kinds, and that therefore 
they sin, who compel the people to use one kind; 8, that 
there is not contained under one kind as much as is con- 
tained under both ; 9, that faith alone is sufficient prepara- 
tion for receiving the eucharist, and that a person is not 
bound to communicate at Easter ; and 10, that it is not 
lawful for a person to communicate himself. 

Such were the heresies, fairly or not presented, which these 
reverend congregations, in successive meetings, laboured to 
demolish, while their canonistic fellow labourers were em- 
ployed in the ostensible demolition of pluralities and other 
abuses. Without forgetting, however, the new sacrament, 
they reverted to the general subject and the first two parti- 
cular sacraments with zeal and assiduity. The secretary 
has faithfully, at least minutely, recorded the names of the 
speakers at each congregation ; but these are comparatively 
of little importance. In his notice of the 25th of February 
he has repeated the conclusion of the meeting, that the ma- 
jority being found to have been in favour of the reformation 
decree in the last session, that decree should be considered 
as approved by the session*. 

* I introduce here, in regard of the date, a reference of some curiosity to 
English affairs in the letters of Cardinal Farnese, in the MS. Collection, 
No. VI. The first is of the date of March 1, 1547, to Cardinal Santa Croce, 
and mentions, that, at the death of the tyrant of England (Henry VIII,) 
there was no good hope that the kingdom would return to the good path, 
since at the coronation of the new king a play was performed in dishonour 
and vituperation of the pope and the cardinals. The same fact is repeated 
for substance in the next letter of the 8th of March to Mons r . Verallo, 
which I will give in the original. Speaking — delle cose d' Inghilterra, — the 
writer proceeds — e quanto alia dispositione di quelle anime perdute, di tornar 
all' union' della Chiesa, et ubedienza della Sede Apostolica, fin qui non si 



114 



COUNCIL OF TRENT, 



[1547. 



That session was now very near at hand, and every thing 
was prepared for it. 

Upon the subject of pluralities, the author of the Diary 
informs us, the legates wrote to the pontiff, suggesting to 
him not to make the reform too universal, but to leave the 
council to satisfy the bishops. The Spaniards presented 
eleven censures on ecclesiastical subjects, of which the legates 
complained to the pope, who partook of their dissatisfaction, 
and suspected the emperor to be at the bottom of these 
symptoms of insubordination. And our author adds, that 
certainly his majesty did aim to depress his holiness. This 
state of affairs induced the pope to think of transferring the 
council to Bologna. This, we shall find by the sequel, was 
no evanescent speculation. In the mean time, the pontiff 
having written to his nuncio at Venice to that purpose, the 
bishops who were there returned to the council. 

The seventh session was celebrated on Thursday, March 3, 
1547. The bishop of St. Mark was prevented by a cold 
from preaching. 

The short preface of the doctrinal decree begins with the 
declaration, that for the completion of the doctrine of Justi- 
fication promulgated in the last session, it was thought 
suitable to pass to the establishment of those sacraments 
by which all righteousness, or Justification (justitia),is either 
begun, or when begun is increased, or when lost is re- 
paired : therefore the most holy and ecumenic synod pro- 
ceeds in the first place to condemn the heresies which oppose 
the true doctrine, by the following canons, which separately 
anathematize those who affirm — 1. That there are more or 
less than the seven specified sacraments ; 2. That those of 
the old and new law differ only in ceremonies; 3, That the 
seven are equal in excellence; 4. That without them the 

comprende cosa buona, ma si vede tutto 1' opposito, per alcune commedie, che 
sono state recitate nella coronatione del nuovo Tirannetto, in disonor e vitu- 
perio del Papa, e delli Cardinali. The young king was perhaps never called 
a Tyrannet, before or after. Is this story in any English history P It 
would have relieved Strype. 



1547.] 



SESSION VII. 



115 



grace of Justification may be obtained through faith alone, 
although all the sacraments are not necessary to all ; 
5. That they were instituted only to nourish faith ; 6. That 
they do not confer grace by their own virtue; 7. That grace 
by them is not universally given on God's part; 8. That 
they have not an inherent virtue to confer the grace, which 
may be obtained by faith alone ; 9. That baptism, confir- 
mation, and order, do not impress an indelible mark on the 
soul, forbidding repetition; 10. That all have power to 
preach and administer the sacraments; 11. That an in- 
tention to do what the church does is not required in 
ministers when they consecrate or confer the sacraments ; 

12. That a minister in mortal sin, although observing all 
essential rites, does not consecrate or confer the sacrament ; 

13. That the ceremonies of the church may be despised or 
omitted without sin. 

We may just observe upon the 4th of these canons, that 
the closing sentence, which the fathers awkwardly mean to 
represent their own doctrine, is evidently intended to shelter 
the priesthood, who are forbidden the use of one of the 
sacraments of their church, matrimony. On the 11th, we 
remark, that the necessity of intention to the validity of 
the sacrament is but feebly and timidly expressed by the 
word requiri; and with respect to the next, that although 
the absence of intention may invalidate a sacrament, mortal 
sin does not. 

On baptism, in particular, the canons separately anathe- 
matize those who affirm — 1. That the baptism of John was 
as valid as that of Christ ; 2. That true water is not ne- 
cessary ; 3. That the church of Rome does not teach the 
true doctrine on the subject; 4. That baptism, administered 
even by heretics in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost, with the intention of doing what the church does, 
is not true baptism; 5. That baptism is unnecessary to 
salvation ; 6. That the baptized cannot lose grace ; 7. That 
baptism obliges to faith alone ; 8. That the baptized are 
exempt from the obligation to obey the commands of the 

i 2 



116 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



church ; 9. That the baptized are released by the re- 
membrance of their baptism from future vows; 10. That 
all sins are remitted by the same remembrance ; 11. That 
baptism ought to be repeated on apostates returning by 
penance ; 12. That none ought to be baptized until as old 
as Christ at his baptism, or at the point of death ; 13. That 
baptized infants should not be received into the num- 
ber of the faithful; and last, not least, and therefore trans- 
lated entire, ( that such little ones ought to be interrogated, 
* when grown up, whether they will ratify what their spon- 
' sors promised in their name when they were baptized; 
' and that if they answer, that they will not, they are to be 
' left to their own will, and in the mean time to be com- 
' pelled to a Christian life by no other penalty, than that 
' of being excluded from the use of the eucharist and other 
s sacraments, until they repent,' — nec alia interim poena 
ad Christianam vitam cogendos, nisi ut ab eucharistia, &c. 

The 1st of these canons might be mistaken for an in- 
stance of kindness and liberality to heretics. On the con- 
trary, it is one of those serpentine policies, by which the 
church of Rome barters her orthodoxy for her interest. 
Baptism makes the subject of it her inalienable slave, and 
she is sure to open the door wide enough for as many as 
can be brought to enter her prison house. The last canon 
is self convicting proof of this. The 9th canon discovers 
the apprehension lest the comprehensive vow of baptism 
should render superfluous the ulterior vows enjoined by the 
Roman church, and not unconnected with her profits and 
her reputation. The 10th discovers the same feeling, lest, 
if the remission by baptism be deemed permanently suf- 
ficient, no recourse should in future be had to the various 
benevolent provisions of the same church for the recurring 
offences of her members. The 11th canon is equally 
provident in behalf of the sacrament of penance, the 
fruits of which enlarge the power of the church to do 
good. The last is a justification of religious coercion to 
any extent which may be required ; and should always be 



1547.] 



SESSION VII. 



117 



remembered by non-Romanists as such. Force of any and 
every kind and degree is allowed, is a duty, of that church, 
out of which is no salvation. 

The three canons respecting confirmation are of minor 
importance. They direct their anathemas against those 
who affirm, that confirmation is not a sacrament ; that there 
is no virtue in chrism ; and that the bishop is not the sole 
ordinary minister of confirmation. 

The fifteen chapters of the decree of reformation which 
are preceded by a short introduction, ending with the words, 
' saving always in all things the authority of the apostolic 
' see,' are as verbose, technical, and nugatory as might be 
expected. They are confined to ecclesiastical and bene- 
ficiary matters, and provide for the government of cathe- 
drals by individuals of reputation; they forbid pluralities 
in these supreme benefices ; they insist upon worthy pos- 
sessors of inferior benefices ; they pronounce some unions as 
incompatible; they require that dispensations, when given 
should be exhibited, and proper substitutes be provided 
to perform the duty; they declare surreptitious unions 
null, and that unions shall only be allowed for reasonable 
causes; unions of another class require competent vicars; 
the ordinaries are to visit in particular cases ; the higher 
ecclesiastics are to be consecrated within the prescribed 
time; chapters have some duties imposed; ordinations by 
foreign bishops must be justified by a lawful reason ; dis- 
pensations not to undertake orders are not to be valid 
above a year, except in cases expressed in the law; those 
who are to be presented to benefices by ecclesiastics are to 
be examined and approved by their ordinaries ; the poor are 
to be paid in particular cases ; and hospitals are to be faith- 
fully and diligently looked after by their administrators. 

Rome need not have been in much terror at such refor- 
mation : but we must wait, for more is to come. 

The session ended by appointing the 21st day of April 
for the next. 

Some present, the secretary observes, desired certain 



118 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



modifications : their number amounted to 13 ; but the re- 
maining 70 approved what had been decreed simply and 
throughout. 

There were 61 prelates, nine of them archbishops, pre- 
sent, without reckoning the cardinals. 

It appears, however, that for some time previous to the 
present session, it had been finally determined to transfer the 
council from Trent to some other place; for a bull with 
a faculty of transferring the council, without naming to what 
place, was directed by the reigning pontiff to the legates, 
which bears the date of February 22, 1547 *: The legate, 
however, made no secret, but publicly announced, that 
Bologna was the place appointed for the future sessions of 
the council ; and the next session, assembled before the ap- 
pointed time, will fully explain the whole. 



Session VIII. 

TRANSLATION TO BOLOGNA. 

On the day succeeding the last session, March 4, copies of 
the articles on the Sacrament of the Eucharist were given to 
all the fathers. 

On the 6th, died of a fever, Henrico Loffredi, bishop of 
Capaccio. May his soul, the secretary adds, rest in peace. 

On the 7th, a general congregation assembled, in which, 
after some ecclesiastical business, the Eucharist was pro- 
posed as the doctrinal subject of the next session. On the 
same day the body of the lately deceased bishop was depo- 
sited in the cathedral. 

Another congregation on the 8th began its task respect- 

* This bull is extant in the original Aldine edition of the Canons and 
Decrees of the Council, and probably in all other editions. In the small one 
of Chifflet the date is, XIII kal. instead of VIII — an easy mistake of an 

X for a V. 



1547.] 



SESSION VIII. 



119 



ing the doctrine proposed, by examining the articles of the 
heretics drawn up on the subject; and after some formality 
in answering a petition, it was taken into consideration what 
should be done, in consequence of the prevailing disease in 
the city of Trent. 

The writer of the Diary, who is evidently not one of the 
pontifical party, represents the affair thus. Many of the pre- 
lates and their domestics were at this time indisposed, either 
from the indulgences of the carnival, or the humidity of the 
atmosphere. The cardinal del Monte employed persons to 
inquire of the physicians, whether there was any danger of 
contagion, who dropping an ambiguous word, a general 
panic ensued, which was justified by the recent death just 
mentioned * ; and, as the disease increased, the legate 
ordered the procurator of the council to institute a process 
concerning it. It was reported that the neighbouring towns, 
and Verona in particular, had suspended all intercourse with 
the infected place ; so that a congregation was held on the 
9th of March, where the legates published their faculty for 
transferring the council. The imperialists protested, that 
there was no just cause for the measure, and afterwards the 
congregation inquired and found that it was a pretence and 
a concerted thing f. 

Massarelli records the congregation of the 9th, and states, 
that after examining the doctrinal point, on which they 
were engaged, the cardinal del Monte proposed to the 
fathers to consider what course should be taken, since so 
many of their body had withdrawn, and others continued to 
withdraw, from the city. To avoid the dissolution of the 
council in this way the opinions of the fathers present were 

* There were several others. 

f There is a very curious document in Le Plat, iii. 590, &c. derived from 
Martene's collection, Acts in the translation of the Council to Bologna, with 
the Depositions of the Physicians at length concerning the disease, which 
is said to be vulgarly called petecce. The Latin epithets are ponticularis 
and lenticularis. It appeared to be eruptive and contagious. 



120 



COUNCIL OF TRENT, 



[1547. 



desired : but their sentiments were so various, that the deter- 
mination was adjourned till the next day. 

They then met, being the 10th of March, and the greater 
part agreed to transfer the council to Bologna. The formal 
resolution, however, to that purpose they reserved to a pub- 
lic session, which was fixed by the president for the very 
next day, the 11th of March. 

The business of this session was very summary : it con- 
sisted simply in reading the decree for the translation of the 
council, which was no more in effect than the question, whe- 
ther, considering the nature, prevalence, and danger of the 
distemper at Trent, the fathers did not think it necessary for 
their safety, that the council should be transferred for a time 
to Bologna, as more healthy and commodious, appointing the 
21st of April ensuing for the next session in that place, and 
there to remain until the council thought it best to return 
and chuse a third place, after the council had communi- 
cated with the sovereigns. The greater part of the session 
approved. 

Massarelli does not enable us to judge of the proportion, 
having made but one list, of the members present ; but from 
the catalogue, which is adopted in Le Piatt's edition of the 
canons and decrees, it appears that the two legates with 
the prelates and generals, and abbats, who were for the 
translation, made 42 ; and the cardinal Pacecco, with the 
prelates for remaining at Trent, made 18. It is due, however, 
to the candour, as well as accuracy, of the secretary to add, 
that the names of those who remained at Trent, to the 
number of 13, are recorded afterwards. There is one re- 
markable circumstance in that list — none of the generals 
of orders or abbats are included : they all adhered to the 
legates. 



1547.] 



SKSSION IX. 



121 



Session IX. — Bologna I. 
PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 
Prorogation of Session. 

The presidents of the council, and the fathers who agreed 
with them as to the translation of the council, took their 
course on the very next day after the session towards Bo- 
logna *. The non-contents, to the number of 13, who are 
expressly named by the secretary, remained at Trent. The 
legantine company reached Bologna on the 20th, and were 
received there with great honour and joy. 

They lost no time, but immediately set to business ; for 
on the 25th of March, the presidents exhibited to the theo- 
logians a copy of 14 articles extracted from the books of 
the modern heretics on the sacrament of penance, or 
penitence. The articles are transcribed at length. On 
the 29th the divines assembled in the first congregation at 
Bologna in the house of the Campeggi, and the principal 
residence of the first president the cardinal del Monte. They 
discussed the above mentioned articles ; and, if the dates of 
our secretary are correct, they continued so employed from 
the day then present for one entire month, to the same day, 
the 29th of April. 

In the mean time, on the 12th of April, the presidents 

* In the valuable collection of documents in MS in the different libraries 
of Spain, published by Dn. J. L. Villanueva in his Vida Literaria, at the 
end of the second volume, there is a letter by Juan Paez de Castro, dated 
April 3, 1547, which gives some account of this departure of the legate and 
their adherents. On the day chosen for determining upon the translation of the 
council, the gospel of the mass had in it the words, ' cast off ike dust of your 
feet," &c, which was a kind of execration of the city ; when they started for 
Verona some looked back, saying, 1 There you may stay, ye swine ! ' Some 
Italians said of the Spaniards, that having spent two years in a land of 
heretics, they were not disposed to go to that of Christ ; and the written 
protests of the latter were strewed on the floor, of which the authors 
repented, and strove in vain to recover them. The emperor sent to Rome 
to expostulate with his holiness, who sware, that he was not aware of it, 
and was sorry, but threw the whole upon the council, by whose resolution 
he would abide. 



122 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



issued letters to the prelates who remained in Trent. The 
first, to Cardinal Pacecco, relates their arrival in Bologna, and 
the very honourable and cordial reception which they had 
received from all ranks ; blessing God, that in so just and 
necessary a change of place they had selected one which 
had every recommendation for beauty, opulence, and abund- 
ance of provisions ; and where the council might be prose- 
cuted with all peace, liberty, and security ; and closing with 
the announcement of the day of the next session, the 21st of 
April. The date is April 11, 1547. 

There are three other letters of precisely the same im- 
port, written each to several of the prelates jointly; and 
of the delivery of all of them there is a formal attesta- 
tion. 

From the historian, as he may be called exclusively of 
the council, the accurate Fra Paolo, we supply the defect 
of our manuscripts in this place, by the information, that the 
fathers, who remained at Trent, according to the known and 
expressed wish of the emperor, who was highly averse to 
the translation, were at a difficulty how to act. They re- 
solved, however, to abstain from any sy nodical act, lest they 
should thereby create a schism ; and contented themselves 
with pursuing their studies on the points before them. 

The first general congregation at Bologna was held on 
the 19th of April ; and it was concluded, that, on account 
of the paucity of attendants, no decree should be then made 
on the subject of the Sacraments and Reformation * ; but 
that, at the ensuing session, nothing but the usual ceremonies 
should take place. By another congregation, the day after, 
the next session was appointed for the immediately suc- 
ceeding day, the 21st, and the one after that for the 2d of 
June. 

On the 21st of April, therefore, the Ninth Session of the 
council, and x the first at Bologna, was celebrated. 

It is to be observed, that the secretary, whose summary 

* Confirmation is written, although there were canons on it in the last 
session. It is evidently a mistake for Reformation. 



1547.] 



SESSION IX. 



123 



we are following, and which is highly valuable on account 
of its minuteness and presumed accuracy, having accom- 
panied the major and Italian part of the council to Bologna, 
gives the whole history of its proceedings with a detail and 
apparent interest, which plainly exhibits the more distinct 
feeling of rivalry. Where the parties were mingled in one 
enclosure the same feeling operated in a desultory and un- 
defined manner : but when they were separated they stood 
opposite to one another, visibly to themselves and the world, 
in hostile array. 

The secretary commences his account of the session by 
calling it the First Public Session of the holy Ecumenic 
and General Council of Bologna — not the Ninth of Trent, 
as if it were hoped, that that place would not again be 
thought of as the future seat of the council. They met in 
the collegiate church of St. Petronius of Bologna. A 
solemn mass of the Holy Spirit was celebrated. An in- 
dulgence, then, according to custom, was published by the 
deacon ; and Caterino, bishop of Minori, clothed in his 
pluviale and mitre, ascended the altar, and delivered a 
pious and luminous oration. This being finished, the presi- 
dents received their robes, and the eighty-fourth psalm was 
chanted. The first president then approached the high 
altar, where he performed the usual prayers and ceremonies, 
and litanies were sung, &c. The second president fol- 
lowed, and in the same place implored the assistance of the 
Holy Spirit, and other offices succeeded. They then, both 
sat down before the high altar, with canopies over their 
heads ; and with their faces towards the assembled prelates ; 
when the decree was received from their hands by the arch- 
bishop of Naxia, who, ascending a pulpit, read it with a 
loud and intelligible voice. 

The decree, with the usual verbosity, for substance, 
simply declares, that the council having been transferred to 
the present place, for good and urgent reasons, and that, 
from different causes, too small a number were assembled for 
the due discharge of their important undertaking ; there- 



124 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



fore, that the session should be adjourned to the 2d of 
June ; but the term, if found expedient, might be abridged. 

The archbishop of Naxia then asked the fathers, whether 
they approved the decree, in these words : — 

Most reverend and illustrious presidents, and most vene- 
rable * fathers, are all these words approved ? 

And immediately the most reverend and illustrious presi- 
dents and legates answered — approved. 

Then, without delay, each of the fathers was separately 
asked, * by me Angelo Massarelli, secretary of the sacred 
' council,' whether they approved, (two notaries, named, 
being present,) who answered unanimously, that they ap- 
proved. And this was announced with the same formality. 

Then were read f by me the aforesaid secretary,' the 
votes of two fathers, who, being necessarily detained by ill 
health, were indulged with the privilege of sending their votes 
in writing. 

The promoter requested the notaries present to draw out 
one or more instruments of what had passed ; and the first 
president, elevating his hand, pronounced a second benedic- 
tion on the sacred synod with the sign of the cross. The 
fathers then laid aside their robes and departed. 

There were present at this session, besides the two presi- 
dents, thirty-eight prelates, one abbat, four generals of 
orders, and six officials of the council. I take this enumera- 
tion from the manuscript of the secretary. As represented 
by Martene in his collection of Monuments, adopted by 
Le Plat, whom I have hitherto followed, there are two or 
three additional names, which may have existed in some 
other copy : there is likewise a large number of names of 
lay and ecclesiastic persons of distinction, particularly of 
the different religious orders, who probably attended the 
session to increase its pomp and effect. 



amplissimi. 



1547.] 



SESSION X. 



125 



Session X. — Bologna II. 

PREPARATION S— SESSION. 
Prorogation of Session. 

A week after the first session at Bologna, or on the 29th of 
April, the usual theologians commenced their labours upon 
the three remaining sacraments, Extreme Unction, Order, 
and Matrimony. 

Upon the first of these subjects we have presented to us 
two articles of the heretics, viz., that Extreme Unction is a 
human figment, or a rite differing from a sacrament, as 
having neither divine command, nor promise of grace ; and 
that it is not performed in the Roman church according to 
scripture, and ought to be changed. 

There follow four such articles on the sacrament of Order, 
purporting, that Order was an office, or duty ; that those 
who preached not were no priests ; that the character of 
priest was common to all Christians, but that a vocation was 
important for use and execution ; and that bishops have no 
power of ordination. 

On Matrimony, there were five heretical articles, teaching, 
that clandestine marriages are not lawful, but that poly- 
gamy is ; that infidelity on the woman's part dissolves the 
bond; that he is not a whoremonger, who, dismissing an 
adulteress, marries another woman ; that divorce annuls mar- 
riage, and allows a second ; that the degrees of affinity, as 
stated in Leviticus, are to be observed, and that the church 
has no power to interdict or rescind marriages regulated by 
that observance. 

The theologians were employed upon these subjects from 
the 29th of April to the 7th of May. 

The general congregations then began to take them up, 
and continued their exertions, particularly in forming canons 
on the eucharist, from the 9th of May to the J 5th (or 
16th*) of the same month. 

The examination was followed up upon the same subjects 

* The number is doubtful in the MS. 



126 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



by particular congregations of prelatic theologians, deputed 
for that purpose, as at Trent ; and they laboured from the 
17th to the 27th of May. The result was, the formation of 
eight canons, fortified, according to rule, each with its own 
anathema, and approved by a general congregation of the 
31st of May. 

The first is against those who affirm, that in the eucha- 
rist is not contained truly and really the body and blood of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, but only in a sign or figure. It will 
be observed, that here is wanting the word e substantially,' 
and 'together with the soul and divinity,' and the ' whole 
Christ,' as it is found in the first canon of the decree which 
actually passed in the thirteenth session, and stands as a 
decree of the council. The second canon is very similar to 
that which was adopted by the legitimate session. It is of 
no great importance to notice the remainder, as they were 
superseded by the canons which are received as the only 
legitimate ones. 

These canons, however, were approved : and on the ap- 
pointed day, the 2d of June, the tenth conciliar, and second 
Bolognese, session was held. 

The ceremonies, which are accurately repeated, are pre- 
cisely, for matter, the same as those which took place in the 
first session in the new station. There does not appear to 
have been any sermon, but the usual indulgence, as it is 
called, was duly 'published. The decree read was merely a 
prorogation of the session, in the customary form, to the 
15th of September, so that the discussions should be con- 
tinued, and the term might be shortened. 

The same formality, as in the first session, was observed 
in requesting and receiving the approbation of the fathers 
present; and the secretary is equally precise in notifying 
his own personal discharge of the duty which fell to his 
share. 

With the presidents there were thirty-nine members of 
the council present. 

Le Plat, in his edition of the canons and decrees of the 
council, has at this point given a complete list of all the 



1547.] session x. 127 

fathers who attended at any time the first ten sessions of the 
council. The number is very considerable; and the notes 
added, respecting some of the individuals, although very con- 
cise, are useful to a minute inquirer. 

The secular events bearing upon the proceedings of the 
council were, the success of the emperor against the pro~ 
testants, which excited the jealousy and alarm of the pon- 
tiff, and produced an alliance between him and the king 
of France. An abortive attempt, we are likewise informed 
by the diarist, was made to introduce the inquisition into 
Naples. The emperor interfered, and obtained, in favour of 
the insurgents, that they should only be fined. At the end 
of August, the emperor assembled a diet at Augsburg, where 
he endeavoured to prevail on the Lutherans to consent to 
the Council of Trent, which they were willing to do, on the 
conditions — that it should be free ; that the pope would release 
the bishops from their oath*; that the protestant theo- 
logians should have a decisive vote ; and that the decrees 
hitherto made should be re-examined. The catholics said, 
that the council would proceed ; that a safe conduct would 
be granted to the protestants ; that they might speak freely, 
but that they should be obliged to obey. In this last sen- 
tence, there was doubtless sincerity enough ; but nothing is 
said of the protestants being allowed a determining voice. 

We now go back to the point at which we left the 
secretary, and follow his statements which more nearly con- 
cern the operations of the council. 

After the last session, and on the 6th of June, the pre- 
sidents proposed to the fathers, to be examined, the canons 
formed on the sacrament of penance, both for matter and 
form; which canons were discussed in general congrega- 
tions from the 10th to the 15th of June. Their censures 
were examined by the theologians from the 17th of June to 
the 12th of July, and certain canons were agreed upon, 
twelve in number, and rather verbose. If there were likely 

* The oath of allegiance to the pope, which made them his vassals and 
slaves. 



128 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1547. 



to be, or if there actually were, any mixture of sound theo- 
logy in the composition of the congregations, by whom the 
present decisions were made, some variation might exist 
between their definitions and those which were finally 
adopted in the ulterior progress of the council. But in an 
Italian city of all others, and in a body composed of Italian 
members, nothing could be expected, nor is found, than 
one unvarying monotony of Roman heresy. 

In the mean time certain articles were drawn up for the 
examination of the theologians, with reference to the heresies 
respecting them on the subjects of purgatory and indul- 
gences. The first is divided into four inquiries, the latter 
into seven. 

Reformation, however, was not neglected ; and the abuses 
connected with the sacraments and their remedies were 
discussed with great care and diligence by the divines, 
and sanctioned by a general congregation on the 16th of 
June*. The sacraments concerned are, baptism, confir- 
mation, and the eucharist. 

From the 27th to the 29th of July the canons on extreme 
unction and order were examined by general congregations. 

After this examination was completed, heretical articles 
were submitted to the theologians, on the subject of the 
mass. These amount to seven. We may here interpose 
the observation relative to all these lists, that no authors, 
no places in them, are stated ; and that therefore they can 
neither be verified nor denied. It is one consolation, that 
evident and important truth greatly preponderates in most 
of them. 

We cannot follow the minute detail of the operations of 
the fathers. Let it suffice to observe, that canons upon 
extreme unction and order were formed and approved ; and, 
in particular, an examination was instituted respecting two 
articles of the Lutherans on the sacrament of matrimony, 
to the elucidation of which, testimonies of fathers and coun- 

* I suspect this should be July ; for in the next paragraph, and suffi- 
ciently near, we read 27 ejusdem mensis, Julii. 



1547.] session x. 



129 



cils to a considerable extent are arrayed on both sides 
Certain canons were formed on the subject. 

The 15th of September, the day fixed for the next session, 
was approaching; but as there was no prospect of being 
able to proceed to effectual business in it, it was formally 
prorogued in a general congregation on the day immediately 
preceding, the 14th. When the fathers were assembled in 
the usual place, the first president invoked the aid of the 
Holy Spirit in a prayer, which he read, imploring the Lord, 
the Holy Spirit, to be present with them, to direct them 
how to proceed, to rule their judgments, and not to suffer 
the enemies of righteousness to triumph. e Let not,' he 
proceeded, f ignorance betray, favour warp, acceptance of 
c persons corrupt our minds ; but being assembled in thy 
' name, and united with each other, grant that under the 
' influence of piety we may follow righteousness, so that our 
' decisions here may in nothing oppose thine, and that in 
' future we may obtain the eternal reward of our good 
' deeds*.' He then addressed himself to the fathers, to 
the effect, that they were encompassed with difficulties and 
impediments ; that many of them, particularly the French, 
had so recently arrived, that such important matters as 
were before them could not be settled with sufficient gravity 
and maturity ; that those who had all along been present 
were as yet unprepared ; and that amidst all their per- 
plexities, increased by the recent assassination of the Duke 
of Placentia j-, it became necessary to omit the session of the 
morrow and prorogue it to some future time. The pro- 
posal was approved. 

The president proceeded in his address, informing the 
audience, that in the midst of their present difficulties he 
could fix upon no certain time for the next session; that 
when at Trent they had considered fifteen days sufficient 

* The prayer generally, as far as it can be made out, is not a bad one. 
Unfortunately, the worst part, the conclusion, is clear — et in futuro pro 
bene gestis consequamur premia sempiterna. 

f His Holiness's son. 

K 



130 



COUNCIL OF TRENT, 



[1547. 



for settling the doctrine of justification, which with uninter- 
mitted congregations had occupied them for seven months 
together ; that they were beset by other difficulties arising 
from the turbulence of the times ; that therefore it appeared 
most prudent and advisable to prorogue the next session at 
the pleasure of the council, as might appear most conducive 
to the Divine honour ; that there did indeed exist some 
reason for fixing the time ; that he trusted the present sus- 
pense would not continue long ; and he finally requested the 
fathers to deliver their opinions freely on the subject pro- 
posed. 

They all assented to the discretionary prorogation. 

It is remarkable that, as if this, which was no more than 
a general congregation, partook somewhat of the character 
and authority of a session, the secretary has subscribed the 
names of ail the attendants precisely as he had previously 
done in the case of the past sessions. With the presidents, 
the French ambassador from the new king, Henry II, 
(which deserves some remark as a fruit of the recent alli- 
ance,) and the prelates, the number present was fifty-six, 
besides generals of orders and officials — a competent assem- 
bly ; but there was the imperial part of the council at Trent, 
and their sovereign not more friendly to the translation than 
he was before. Of this proofs will appear. 

The council of Bologna (so w T e may call it) proceeded in 
its preparations. Canons were drawn up upon the abuses of 
the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. These canons 
are very extended, and differ from the general form of canons 
by their purporting to be only declarations and admonitions. 
They were proposed in a general congregation on the 27th 
of September, and were examined by successive meetings to 
the 3d of October. Provisions on the subject of the speci- 
fied abuses, of which a copy had been communicated to the 
fathers, were subsequently discussed. Canons on the sacra- 
ment of matrimony were also presented. On the 27th of 
October were proposed for discussion canons on the abuses 
of the eucharist, which abuses are designated , with great 



1547.] 



SESSION X. 



131 



horror; likewise other abuses, with their remedies — these 
all, it will be remembered, fall under the head of Reformation. 
And in this manner the council was occupied to the end of 
November. 

At a general congregation on the 21st of December the 
president apprized the fathers, that he had received a breve 
of their most holy Lord, in which his holiness relates a 
petition of the cardinal of Trent in the name of the emperor, 
concerning the return of the council to Trent ; and that his 
beatitude requests the judgment and advice of the holy 
synod, how to answer. The breve, which is short, and simply 
expresses these facts, with the usual technicality, is subjoined, 
and dated the 16th of December. The fathers wished to have 
some matters of doubt cleared before they committed them- 
selves by approving the proposed return. There were pre- 
sent, writes the secretary, without specifying them severally 
and by name, as before, both the French ambassadors, (the 
union is improving,) and fifty-seven prelates. 

At a general congregation on the 20th, (which must be 
wrong, as a preceding day had been called the 21st, unless 
the error were there,) it was unanimously agreed, that the 
answer to his holiness should be written by the president. 
It is a long epistle, occupying eleven folio pages moderately 
full, and distinguished by the general character of ecclesias- 
tical state-papers, particularly the Roman. The argument 
of it, which secures against the hazard of any thing like an 
engagement, is, that the synod must be certain upon several 
points upon which certainty was not very attainable — whe- 
ther, in case of the return to Trent, Germany will unreserv- 
edly submit to the decisions of the council ; whether there 
be any truth in the rumour of a certain vulgar or popular 
council to be collected from all sorts of men and called a 
Christian council ; whether security will be given to the per- 
sons of those who return; and whether the council, when 
returned, will be at liberty to transfer itself again if thought 
proper — before the present council can decide upon so im- 

k2 



132 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1548 



portant a measure. And this is the best advice it could give 
his holiness. Dated the 20th of December. 

On the 2d of January, 1548, in a general congregation, 
the president read an account of the answer given by the 
pope to the imperial ambassador concerning the reduction 
of the council to Trent. The respective policies of his im- 
perial and his papal majesty, in their predilections respect- 
ing the seat of the council, are so obvious, and it is so plain, 
that in the protestations and answers on the subject, how- 
ever ingenious and voluminous, there can occur no argument 
which does not arrange itself under the interests of their 
respective authors, that we may very excusably pass over 
this portion of the history with comparative rapidity. 

After five distinct general congregations, assembled be- 
tween the 4th and the 14th of January, proceeding with busi- 
ness into which it is not important to inquire, we come to 
a process of protestation made by the imperial proctors in 
the council of Bologna, and the answer of the sacred synod. 
A great deal of animated debate took place on the occasion ; 
but very secular, and easily anticipated. 

On the 1st of February an answer of the pontiff to the 
imperial ambassador in public consistory extends over be- 
tween thirty and forty pages of the manuscript before me, 
but in the collection of Le Plat, where it is found, it is in- 
cluded in about eleven. There follows immediately in the 
same collection a new protestation against his holiness, pre- 
pared, but not issued. 

A breve of the pope, dated the 16th of February, was 
directed to both the presidents, the second having returned 
from Rome, desiring them to send certain of the prelates to 
the holy see, in order to defend the translation of the council. 
A general congregation was held on the 28th; and on the 
next day were deputed for that purpose a certain number of 
prelates, who took with them a commendatory epistle to his 
holiness, dated the 9th of March, 1548, and signed, 

Servi, et Creaturse Jo. Maria Card lis . de Monte 
Marcellus Card is . S. Crucis. 



1548.] 



SESSION X. 



133 



Their appearance at Rome, March 22, is largely detailed; 
and their letter to the legates is exhibited. 

There follows, of the date of the 17th of February, a breve 
of the pontiff directed to Pacecco, cardinal of Jaen, and the 
other fathers continuing at Trent, inviting them to send 
some of their body to Rome, to explain to his holiness to 
what they objected in the translation. The breve is long, 
and it receives as long an answer, full of respect, — pleading 
the view of the emperor respecting the translation as illegal, 
and their own consciences according with that view; reminding 
his holiness, that while the emperor was a conquering Joshua, 
he was apraying Moses ; soliciting protection from vexation ; 
and entreating the great pastor of the church to send back 
the fathers to the pre-elected city; at the close signing them- 
selves his most humble creatures, and most devoted orators. 

To this an answer was given in the name of the deputies 
of Bologna at Rome in a judicium addressed to the pope*. 
The writers vindicate the translation of the council on the 
ground of the prevalence of the disease in Trent ; they com- 
bat the pretence of the residents in that city, that their pre- 
sence was not wanted at Bologna, since it was solicited, and 
no answer returned ; they take offence at the apparent sus- 
picion cast upon the reality of the malady at Trent; and 
they finally entreat his holiness not to render their labours 
at Bologna useless by suspending them, but to allow them 
to resume their course, and to exhibit to the world the justice 
of their cause. 

On the 17th of May the president della Croce was re- 
called to Rome ; and on the 13th of July the first president 
was made legate of Bologna. 

Four prelates of the council of Bologna, and as many 
remaining at Trent, are summoned to the presence of his 
holiness in Rome : the latter excusing themselves, a second 
call is made upon them. This is dated September 18, 
1549. 

The secretary concludes his summary with a complete 
* See Le Plat's collection at the beginning of the ivth volume. 



134 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1548. 



list of the names of those,, fathers and others, who attended 
the sessions at Bologna. It is with regret that we lose him 
as our farther guide. When it is well considered how much 
more valuable in history is exactitude in the notation of 
time, than the fascinating embellishments of eloquence, 
which are often made to supply its place and disorder the 
truth of facts, we shall give such authors as Massarelli an 
honourable place in the historic department of literature. 

Having advanced rather prematurely in our chronology, 
in order to carry on the summary without interruption to its 
close, we must now retrograde a little, to notice secular opera- 
tions connected with the council. The Diary, in connexion 
with the known published historian, relates, that the em- 
peror, at a diet in Augsburg, convened the 1st of September, 
1547, and which he thought proper to overawe by force, re- 
quired the protestants to submit to the decrees of the council 
then sitting at Trent. He did not obtain his purpose; and in 
the next year, finding that the council, notwithstand i nga 
his remonstrances, had left Trent for Bologna, and that no- 
thing was, or was likely to be, done, he determined, having 
the power in his hands, to issue a temporary rule of faith, 
to which he would invite or compel the obedience of his sub- 
jects. Its obligation was to cease when the council should 
be reassembled in a manner which he approved, and pub- 
lish its own decrees upon the same subject. This formu- 
lary was drawn up by Julius Pflugius, Michael Sidonius, 
and John Agricola, and was solemnly promulgated by the 
emperor at the diet of Augsburg, May 15, 1548; the elec- 
tor of Mentz taking upon himself to give it a formal appro- 
bation, as representative of the whole assembly. This for- 
mulary is well known by the expressive title of the Interim; 
and was constructed with the dishonest dexterity familiar to 
the church which supplied it. In softened and ambiguous 
terms it asserts all the peculiar doctrines of the dominant 
faith; and, like all other conciliatory schemes from the same 
quarter, effects its object at the sole expense of truth and 
rectitude. Projects of this description, however fascinating 



1548.] 



SESSION X. 



135 



to minds of a certain character and profundity, furnish one 
of the most striking illustrations of the fallacy resulting from 
the suppression or distortion of kind and degree in the esti- 
mate of moral or intellectual subjects. The truth and value 
of conciliation and mutual forbearance in differences upon 
non-essential points, or those of secondary and inferior 
importance, are, or ought to be, universally admitted. But 
between absolute, or almost absolute, antipodes no union 
whatever can take place : the attempt is the same as to en- 
deavour to embody a negative and an affirmative upon the 
same subject, and in the same sense, in a simple proposi- 
tion. There can be no wonder, therefore, that Rome, with 
her flexible and watchful policy, allowed the thing to pro- 
ceed, and produce advantage to herself, without committing 
herself by any responsible participation. The contemptible 
expedient, however, deceived or pleased neither party, and 
became perfectly inefficient, as it deserved to be*. The 
catholic states and princes themselves, as they are called, 
made a formal answer to the Interim ; and Charles, in conse- 
quence of their suggestion, issued another formulary relating 
to reformation, of considerable length, and approved by the 
diet of Augsburg -f*. These acts procured for the emperor 
the reputation of making himself the head of the German, 
Spanish, and Italian church, after the example of the king 
of England. 

At this time his holiness sent into Germany the bishops 
of Verona and Firentillo with authority to absolve from 
heresy; and a bull for that purpose, and sufficiently ample, 
was published throughout Germany. 

The Diary likewise states, that the king of France, on the 

* The Interim is of tolerable extent. It is given in Le Plat's collection 
iv. 32 — 69, therefore 37 quarto pages. It contains 35 chapters. I have the 
first edition in German, — a handsome folio, printed at Mentz by Juo. 
SchofFer, MDXLVIII. Bossuet's Exposition, and the Declaration of the 
Roman Catholics of this country in 1826, are upon precisely the same plan ; 
and no true Romanist will own either, but he will quietly take advantage 
of the good which they may do. 

f Both these pieces are to be seen in Le Flat, ubi supra, 69 — 101. 



136 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1548. 



4th of July, made a solemn procession, and published an 
edict commanding the observance of the doctrine of the 
apostolic see ; and in order to show his own perseverance in 
the union of the Roman church, he ordered many heretics 
to be decapitated in his presence, and those who knew of any 
to discover them. He also directed the bishops to convoke 
synods for the reform of their churches, which was not ac- 
ceptable at Rome. 

The schismatic council, which was convoked for the pur- 
pose of healing both heresy and schism, protracted its being 
in Bologna in a very ambiguous manner. It was a coun- 
cil and no council, the head of the two factions into which 
it was divided, without being able to control the inferior 
and refractory one. Germany and its emperor, which it 
was principally called to benefit, were neglected and foiled, 
and of consequence dissatisfied. It was time, therefore, that 
so useless an assembly should in some way expire. The 
pontiff himself accordingly inflicted upon it somew.hat of an 
honourable death : he sealed its formal suspension. In 
fact, he had intended to take the matter of his own reforma- 
tion into his own hands ; and he could not do so without 
casting contempt on an existing council. He therefore com- 
manded the president to dismiss the bishops. This was 
done by a letter of cardinal Farnese to del Monte, dated 
the 13th of September, 1549, and the order was executed 
on the 17th : it was signified at the same time, that it was 
not the intention of the pontiff that the council should be 
continued, but that decrees for restoring discipline should be 
enacted at Rome *. 

The pontiff Paul III died on the 10th of November, 
1549, and, on the 7th of February ensuing, 1550, cardinal 
del Monte, chief president of the council until its suspension, 

* This is the representation of Pallavicino, who idly triumphs over Sarpi 
for saying, that the council slept on for two years* The fact of the suspen- 
sion is supported by the Acts and Di aries of the council. His own testi- 
mony is satisfactory —1st. xi. 4. 4. It may be added, that the suspension 
is expressly recognized in the Bull of Resumption. 



1550.] 



SESSION X. 



137 



was elected to succeed him *. He assumed the name of 
Julius, out of regard to the last Julius, the second, and was 
therefore the third of the same name. 

Upon his accession the emperor renewed his instances 
for the return of the council to Trent, and requested an 
explicit answer, that he might know how to act on the sub- 
ject of religion in his own empire; since the council on 
which he relied for settling that great question was dis- 
solved. The new pope could not but be perplexed by this 
demand, as he was the cause of translating the council from 
Trent : he, however, thought it best to gratify the emperor ; 
and therefore assembled a congregation of cardinals, chiefly 
in the imperial interest, and desired them to deliver their 
minds freely. Cardinal Crescentio, who, on this occasion, 
was the principal speaker, said, that in a choice of difficul- 
ties, when if the request were refused, that would be done 
independently by the parties which should be done by the 
council, the most politic and honourable risk was, to reas- 
semble the council, in which, he added, many methods were 
feasible, of diverting that body, as, by keeping the prelates 
in disputes and various matters, so that they should not 
find time to think of depressing the apostolic authority, and 
by securing the attachment of the Italians by offices and 
rewards, and in such manner balancing the princes among 
themselves, that they should not be able to unite in any 
plan to humiliate the apostolic see. The force of this rea- 
soning was admitted, and the resumption of the council in 
Trent absolutely agreed upon. Couriers were despatched 
to the princes. To the king of France the bishop Triulcio was 
sent as nuncio, to induce him, by the assurance that the 
interest of the Gallican church would not be called in ques- 
tion, to send his bishops to the council. To the emperor 
another nuncio was instructed to represent, that his holiness 
was actuated in the present resolution by a concern for the 
advantage of his majesty ; that it was necessary to obtain 
the concurrence of the French king, from fear of a national 

* The dates are from Pallavicino, xi. 6. 



138 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1550. 



council and the loss of France; that assistance during the 
sitting of the council was important, to guard against loss of 
time; and that his majesty might be secure of the obedience 
both of catholics and protestants to the council. The king 
of France, believing that the pontiff was adverse to the em- 
peror, offered his most vigorous aid ; and the emperor lauded 
his holiness, and promised ever to protect the council *. 

At the diet of Augsburg in June it was resolved to sub- 
mit every thing to the council when assembled. The pro- 
testants made their natural and reasonable demands. Pal- 
lavicino writes, that in the form of the proposition of the diet 
occurred the expression, to continue in Trent, which might 
be construed as a reflexion upon the translation ; and upon 
the complaint of the nuncio, it was altered. It will be 
observed in time how anxious the pontifical party itself was 
for the adoption of the continuation in reference to the coun- 
cil : at the present it was carefully avoided. The pope had 
prepared a bull for, not the continuation, ' but the resumption, 
of the council ; it is dated November the 14th, 1550, and 
appoints the 1st of May ensuing for the first meeting f. 
The emperor desired to have this bull sent for the inspec- 
tion of the diet, in its outline : but his holiness thought it 
not befitting his dignity to comply, and sent the bull in its 
completed state, although he had not published it. The 
imperial councillors thought a part of it too strong on the 
authority of the pope ; and recommended that the same arti- 
fice should be used for entrapping the protestants as was 
adopted by hunters to secure the object of their pursuit, 
— seeming to yield in order to inveigle the intended victim 
into the snare. The pope replied, that he wished to do 
things openly and effectually. The emperor rejoined, that 
forbearance was of use, and that, if it had been adopted in 
the first instance, the fire now to be quenched would never 
have been kindled. This had no effect upon his holiness, 
who repeated all the towering pretensions of his predeces- 
sors. This alternation of artful conciliation and of unbend- 



Diario iii. 



t See 1st. del Cone, di T. xi. 1 1, 3. 



1551.] 



SESSION X. 



139 



ing arrogance terminated in the victory of the latter, and 
the bull kept unaltered. Upon this the protestants became 
tumultuous, and the papists were dissatisfied. The emperor 
with healing speeches quieted both. An imperial decree 
was made on the 13th of February, 1551, requiring all the 
protestants and ecclesiastical princes to attend, and submit 
to, the council, where full liberty of speech would be allowed 
— but what liberty, or right, of determining ? 



Session XI. 

PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Resumption of the Council under Julius III. 

Events were now approaching to a state of maturity for 
the resumption of the council at Trent. Imperial power 
and importunity, not to say justice, had wrested from papal 
interest and reluctance the reduction of the council from an 
Italian seat, to the old one, less under the influence of him 
who claimed to be its master. The pontiff chose for his 
legate, (for he took care to escape the responsibility and 
other inconveniences of being personally present,) Marcello 
Crescentio, cardinal presbyter of St. Marcello; to whom 
he joined, as nuncios, Sebastiano Pighino, archbishop of 
Siporto, and Aloisio Lipomano, bishop of Verona. They 
are, however, all called legates. 

At this second portion of the council our manuscripts 
fail us, excepting the abridged diary of which we shall 
make principal use, scanty as it is. We might therefore with- 
out impropriety have referred the reader, for the necessary 
information of this period, to the Venetian historian. But 
for the purpose of preserving the course of the narrative of 
so interesting a transaction in some degree unbroken, we 
will travel through the space, availing ourselves of the assist- 
ance of the published history, where the unpublished one is 



140 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



deficient, and giving as much as appears essential from the 
canons and decrees themselves,, which are doubtless the most 
substantial and permanent part of the history. 

The eleventh session, and first under Julius III, was regu- 
larly opened, with the accustomed forms, on the 1st of May, 
as announced. Then was read the Bull of Resumption, 
which, as it has before been referred to, and contains some 
particulars which give a character to the proceedings as ema- 
nating from a new ruler, it will be of service to notice. The 
part which gave the great and just offence, was, where Julius 
first speaks of himself — e We, to whom, as supreme pontiff 
e for the time, it pertains, to announce and direct general 
( councils,' &c. He then calls upon all kings and princes, 
as well as others, to assist him in his holy endeavours ; and, 
after announcing the day of the present session, and pro- 
mising the attendance of his legates, if he, from age or ill 
health, and other occupations of the apostolic see, should be 
unable to appear personally — let the reader w r eigh the ex- 
pression, when he knows that the individual had determined, 
for obvious reasons, not to appear personally — he glances 
at the suspension of the council and concludes in the usual 
way. 

The question was then put, whether the fathers approved, 
that the Tridentine council should be resumed and proceed ; 
and again, whether the 1st of September should be the 
next day of session. — To both of which questions the answer 
was, approved. 

There were thirteen prelates, chiefly imperial, although 
not of Germany, present, with the three legates and an im- 
perial ambassador. 



1551.] 



SESSION XI 



141 



Session XII. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Prorogation of Session. 

A disagreement between Henry of France and Julius of 
Rome respecting the duchy of Parma, dissipated all the 
goodwill which had commenced between these sovereigns; 
and the former knowing how to wound most effectually, 
published an edict, that all his bishops should put them- 
selves in readiness for a national council ; and the order was 
presented even in Rome to his prelates there. 

From Sarpi we learn, that the protestants were induced 
to think of attending the council, and to prepare accord- 
ingly : but they desired a safe conduct in the name, not of 
the emperor, but of the council; for they remembered the 
council of Constance and the fate of Huss. The case of the 
council of Basil was a precedent for their demand*. 

The emperor sent three ambassadors to attend the coun- 
cil, one for the empire, one for Spain, and the third for his 
own states. He likewise sent many bishops from Germany ; 
so that the procession on the day of session amounted to 
sixty- four. 

That day, September the 1st, arrived. The business was 
short. It was simply a decree of prorogation, purporting, 
that the holy council, on account of the absence of repre- 
sentatives of the illustrious German nation, for the benefit of 
which in particular the synod was convened, had forborne to 
proceed; but hoping for a better attendance in future, it 
appointed the 1 1th of October ensuing for the next session ; 
and prosecuting f the council in the state in which it was 
found, having defined the sacraments in general and two 
particular ones, it decrees, that the eucharist for doctrine, and 
residence for reformation, shall form the next subjects of dis- 
cussion; and finally exhorts the fathers to exercise them- 



* 1st. iv. 



f prosequendo. 



142 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



selves in fastings and prayers, that God, being appeased, 
may reduce the hearts of men to the acknowledgment of the 
true faith, to the unity of the church, and to the rule of 
righteous living. 

The king of France sent to the council one of his minis- 
ters with letters of credence, addressed to the holy fathers 
of the Tridentine Convention, which gave some offence: 
the elector of Mentz asked, how they would like to be ad- 
dressed by the protestants as a convention of malignants. 
The letters asserted, that the council was not general, nor 
accessible to the king or his bishops ; and desired, that the 
protest against it might be registered, and a copy returned. 
No answer was then given. The king dismissed the pa- 
pal nuncio, and published a manifesto, chiefly concerning 
Parma, in the close of which he professes, that he had all 
respect for the apostolic see, but that it was not composed 
of prudent men, and that in short it was nothing more than 
the pope himself. To save his credit, however, on the con- 
trary side, he published a most severe edict against the 
heretics and Lutherans, annexing greater punishments than 
his predecessors had done, in order, continues the Diary, to 
dissipate the opinion, that his majesty was averse from the 
apostolic see, and to shut the mouth of all *. So the Al- 
mighty Sovereign, who has a rich compensation in store for 
his faithful ones, allowed them to be tried in the fire of 
brutal persecution by capricious and unprincipled tyrants ! 

There were present, according to the list in Le Plat, 
thirty prelates, besides a greater number than before of 
ambassadors and electoral princes. 



* Lib. iv. 



1551] 



SESSION XII 



143 



Session XIII. 

PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 

Doctrine : Eucharist — Reformation : Ecclesiastical Regulations — 
Safe Conduct. 

Immediately after the Xllth session, preparations began to 
be made for the next ; and real business was commenced. 
A general congregation was held, at which the subject dis- 
cussed was the Eucharist; and articles of the protestants 
upon the subject were selected for confutation and condem- 
nation. They were ten. Certain regulations were pro- 
posed to the theologians in their examinations, conducive 
both to evidence and to economy in time. They were, to 
adhere to the testimony of scripture, tradition, the canons, 
the fathers. This field, although in all conscience wide 
enough, was too narrow for the scholastic divines, who 
wished to expatiate without limit in the interminable ex- 
panse of their own peculiar logic, or sophistry. They, 
however, gave their sentiments on the subject before them ; 
and did not fail to triumph over the heretical views of ab- 
sent opponents. A number of canons were the result. 

From Fra Paolo, whom we are following, (for the Diary 
presents almost nothing,) we understand, that the repose 
of the council was a little disturbed by the application from 
the imperial ambassadors, particularly the Count de Mont- 
fort, for a safe conduct for the protestants; and it was 
required that it should be really safe. The legate answered 
with abundance of compliments : but in order to have time 
to consult Rome, he remitted every thing to the time of the 
session. It was thought reasonable, that likewise deter- 
mination on the Eucharist should be deferred, at least as 
respects the cup. The legate answered in general terms. 
The pope consented as to the safe conduct and suspense 
respecting the cup. He wished, however, the council not to 
be idle, but undertake the consideration of Penance. On the 
Eucharist there Was much disagreement between the Do- 



144 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



minicans and Franciscans ; and it was in consequence 
determined to adhere to general terms — a principle which 
is good, bad, or indifferent, according to circumstances. It 
was likewise proposed to rectify some abuses relative to the 
Eucharist, particularly the custom at Rome of obliging 
communicants to hold during the communion a taper lighted, 
to which was attached a piece of money, which was the 
priest's perquisite, and without which no one was admitted 
to communicate. 

In the division of Reformation the subject discussed was, 
episcopal jurisdiction, which is formally examined and at 
much length by the historian, and on the abuse of appeals. 
John Grapper, the imperial theologian and canonist, was so 
urgent and pungent, that it was necessary to put forth 
something of a vigorous reply, and, with whatever repug- 
nance, to make some concession. The subject of Degra- 
dations experienced a similar fate. At a congregation, 
approaching the time of the session, it was agreed, that the 
demand of the safe conduct for the protestants was reason- 
able ; and it was thought advisable, that a part of the sub- 
ject of the Eucharist should be deferred. 

At the date of the 7th of October, Don Francisco Vargas, 
Doctor of Law, and Fiscal of the emperor, and whom he 
had sent to Trent at this time, in a letter to the bishop of 
Arras*, writes concerning the rulers of the council, that 

* The letters and papers of Vargas, which Le Plat so unworthily "repu- 
diates without a reason given, (for he could give none,) were published, 
first by Dr. Geddes, in his Council of Trent no Free Assembly, 1697, and 
in French by Le Vassor, at Amsterdam, 1700. Geddes, in the Intro- 
ductory Discourse, p. 80, says, the originals in Spanish were put into 
his hands by Dr., afterwards Bp. Stillingfleet, who said they were commu- 
nicated to him by Sir W. Trumbull, secretary of state, who found them 
among his grandfather's papers, who was envoy under James I. at Brussels 
for fifteen years. They came probably from Cardinal Granvelle's secre- 
taries, with whom they were left when he withdrew from the Netherlands. 
He bought them, but probably with engagement not to publish them dur- 
ing the lives of the parties. Le Vassor refers the incredulous to Sir W. 
Trumbull in London ; and insists, that there is in the letters internal 
evidence sufficient to prove they are no forgeries. — See Preface. Their 



1551.] 



SESSION XIII. 



145 



' it is their whole business to abuse the world, by pretend- 
\ ing that they do hope, and wish that the protestants may 

* come, when at the same time they are contriving all the 

* ways they can think of to shut the door against them. 
( This, so far as I can understand, was the reason likewise 
e of precipitating the doctrine of Justification, as they did : 
f and whereas they cannot tell but that the protestants may 
' come hither, so, were they but certain that they would 
f never come, I cannot tell what they might do.' The fiscal, 
however, was no friend to the protestants, but he under- 
stood what was fair play. 

When the 11th of October arrived, the thirteenth session, 
the third under Julius III, was celebrated. After the usual 
solemnities the archbishop of Sassari preached, as Pallavi- 
cino has it, in honour of the most august Eucharist. The 
decrees were then read ; and the first was, that of Doctrine, 
on the Eucharist. 

After a short preface of the turgid commonplace, which 
may readily be anticipated, and which, if it were new, would 
disgust by its palpable and profane untruth, the council 
publishes to the world its dogma of the sacrament of the 
Eucharist, or the Lord's supper, in eight rather extended 
chapters. It will not be required of us to give even the sub- 
stance of the whole, which is easily attainable. The 4th and 
5th chapters are the most remarkable. The 4th, ? of Transub- 
' stantiation/ declares, ( that by the consecration of the bread 
i and wine there is made a conversion of the whole substance 
' of the bread into the substance of the body of our Lord 

authenticity has been placed beyond all doubt by the extracts made by 
Dr. J. L. Villanueva in his Vida Literaria. Those extracts are from ad- 
ditional letters of Vargas, and of a later period, when he was ambassador at 
Rome. The spirit and language of them are in precise conformity with those 
published by Geddes and Le Vassor. The documents, with other very 
important ones, relative to the Council of Trent, preserved in various 
public libraries in Spain, as we have observed before, are presented in an 
Appendix at the end of his second volume. The Rev. Blanco White has 
made the English reader acquainted with the most important part of them 
in his unanswerable Practical and Internal Evidence against (R) Catho- 
licism. 2d ed. Append. L 



146 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



' Jesus Christ, and of the whole substance of the wine into the 
s substance of his blood ; which conversion is suitably and 
f properly called by the holy Catholic church Transubstantia- 
f tion.' The 5th, f on the worship and reverence to be paid to 
' this most holy sacrament/ declares, ' that, therefore, there is 
' no room for doubt, that all the faithful of Christ, according 
' to the custom ever received in the Catholic church, may (or 
' ought to) pay, with veneration, to this most sacred sacra- 
' ment the worship of Latria, which is due to the true God ; 
f nor is it to be less adored because it was instituted by Christ 
' the Lord to be taken, for we believe the same God to be 
' present in it, whom the eternal Father introduces,' &c. 

Eleven canons on the same subject are subjoined. We 
will extract only the 1st and 2d. The 1st runs ; ' If any 
' one shall deny, that in the sacrament of the most holy 
f eucharist is contained truly, really, and substantially, the 
' body and blood, together with the soul and divinity of our 
' Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore entire Christ ; but shall 
( say, that he is in it only as in a sign, or in a figure, or by 
f virtue ; let him be anathema.' The 2d is in these words : 
' If any one shall say, that in the most sacred sacrament of 
' the eucharist the substance of bread and wine remains to- 
( gether with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ ; 
f and shall deny that wonderful and singular conversion of 
' the whole substance of bread into the body, and of the 
' whole substance of wine into the blood, and the species of 
' bread and wine alone remaining ; which conversion indeed 
* the Catholic church most aptly calls Transubstantiation ; 
' let him be anathema.' The 6th might be noticed as re- 
peating in a new and stronger form the contents of the 5th 
chapter of the decree. 

The decree of Reformation contains eight chapters. They 
embrace the obvious personal and official duties of bishops ; 
regulations concerning appeals ; the summary degradation 
of criminal clerics ; the cognizance by the bishop of graces 
referring either to absolution of crime or remission of punish- 
ment ; the prohibition of personal citation of a bishop ex- 



155L] 



SESSION XIII. 



147 



cept in the case of deposition or privation ; the qualifi- 
cations required in witnesses deposing against a bishop ; 
and the reservation of the higher causes of bishops to the 
chief pontiff. 

There follows the decree of Prorogation, as to four remain- 
ing articles on the Eucharist, at the discussion of which it 
was desirable that the protestants might be present, for 
whose coming and attendance a safe conduct was appointed 
and prepared. 

The form of it is then given, by which the council grants 
full liberty to the protestants of coming, staying, and return- 
ing, with every necessary clause, which it desires to have 
considered as expressed, as far as regards the holy synod 
itself; and promises, that in the case of crimes, even here- 
tical, committed by them, they may choose judges favourable 
to them. 

The sentence, quantum ad ipsam sanctam synodum spec- 
tat, I have translated and placed so as to make its meaning 
as ambiguous as the original. The closing sentence too 
would admit an interpretation, when, if necessary, reduced 
to practice, not very favourable to the heretic. 

The protestants wondered at the prorogation of the 
consideration of the four articles on the Eucharist being 
ascribed to a wish expressed on their part ; and they 
complained of the ambiguity of the sentence noticed 
above, as an intended trap. It was likewise remarked, with 
surprise and disgust, that when the ambassador of the elec- 
tor of Brandenburg addressed the council in his master's 
name in terms of honour, he was interpreted, in the answer, 
as if the elector, who was of the confession of Augsburg, had 
made a profession of submission to the council, of which 
there was no mention ; and the conduct of the council was 
justified by that of a pope in a similar case. 

Twenty prelates were present, three abbots, one general, 
and a large number of theologians, with some monks. 

A letter was written by Vargas to his friend the day after 
this session. He gives an account of it. He represents it 

l 2 



148 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



as more solemn than any preceding one: it lasted eight 
hours ; and the oration is applauded. Alluding to the case 
of the ambassador of the elector of Brandenburg, he says, 
that there was a promise contained in the speech, that the 
elector would consent to what his ambassador should ap- 
prove. Proceeding to the safe conduct, he writes, that the first 
draught of it was changed and abridged by the legate, and 
that it really gave the protestants no assurance, that they 
should not be punished for the offences of their religion : the 
offer of favourable judges was evasive. The clause quoted 
above might well excite their jealousy, since the promise" of 
security should have been made for the pope, the emperor, 
and all other princes and prelates, as was done by the synod 
of Basil. The decrees of the council of Constance in its 9th 
session, and that of Sienna, ought, he adds, likewise to have 
been suspended, as in the case of the Bohemians. And he 
says, that if the safe conduct is shown to him before it is 
pronounced, this shall be done ; but he represents the legate 
as very arbitrary in all his proceedings. As to the decree 
of reformation, he says the contents are ' of so trivial a na- 
' ture, that many were ashamed to hear them ; and had they 
( not been wrapped up in good language, they would have 
f appeared to the whole world to be what they are ; and if 
' God does not prevent it, I do not see but that all other 
* things will be carried here at this rate.' He expresses his 
pleasure to hear, that his majesty was coming nigher to 
them, which would bring his friend so too : he adds, e his 
1 majesty's presence may give some life to affairs here.' — 
More indeed than the council wished for. We shall find 
him shortly at Inspruck. 

The monstrous invention of Rome on the subject of the 
most sacred rite of Christianity, transubstantiation — this 
contradiction, not a mystery, this incantation, not a sacra- 
ment, this ideal Moloch, on whose altar torrents of human 
and Christian blood have been poured out in sacrifice — is in 
the foregoing conciliar enactments as categorically and dis- 
tinctly enounced, without the specification of bones and sinews, 



1551.] 



SESSION XIII. 



149 



as could well be expected, or, for truth of representation, be 
desired. On this cardinal subject, as a principal debated 
between the two churches, I solicit the patience of the 
reader for some observations. In the outset I wish to do 
justice to the opponent party by remarking, that I consider 
it an unjust charge against the Romanist, that he abso- 
lutely and altogether rejects the testimony of the senses, in 
consequence of his holding the doctrine of transubstan- 
tiation. He may assert, that he admits the fidelity of the 
testimony of the senses as freely as any other division of 
dogmatists. He excepts only one instance. He could not 
come to the knowledge or belief of that one instance, but by 
means of the senses. He must have read with his eyes, or 
heard with his ears, the very declaration, which causes his 
belief of the doctrine in question. As Christians in general, 
who believe the miracles recorded in the gospel, do not for that 
reason reject the belief of what is called the ordinary course of 
nature, or the generally established succession of causes and 
effects, so the person who receives transubstantiation allows 
the general, it might be said universal, authority of the 
senses, this one case excepted, which he may suppose is 
excepted for the most complete exercise of the submission 
of the understanding to Him who gave it, and invested it 
with all its powers. The Romanist, therefore, is respon- 
sible only for the single exception made by him. The 
question then generally is, how far he is entitled to make 
that exception. And the instance here is not mystery, but 
contradiction. It has no real analogy with the doctrine of 
the Trinity, because that is a subject in its essence confess- 
edly beyond the reach of human intellect, and the respects 
in which one is three, and three one, are not the same. In 
transubstantiation, the natural subject and the human one, 
although connected with the divine, are intelligible, as far 
as the argument is concerned ; and so is the conversion of 
t he one into the other, which, if the senses are in any degree 
to be trusted, is not a fact, but contrary to it. The question 
is, are the senses deceived ? It is useless to fly to omnipo- 



150 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551, 



tence: omnipotence cannot work a contradiction without 
proclaiming its own weakness, which is itself a contradic- 
tion. Omnipotence cannot destroy itself. To reason a little 
a priori, upon which in the present course we are driven, 
the fidelity of the senses in their reports is supported by 
the perfections, particularly the benevolence, of the Deity, 
who, it is fairly presumed, would not give to his intel- 
lectual creatures a guide, upon which he obliged them to 
depend, by giving them no other, if he intended that, in 
one important point, that guide should deceive them*. 
And it might well be doubted whether a doctrine could or 
would be commanded by the God of truth, which he has 
made it impossible for his creatures properly to believe. 
To submit is not to believe. 

But the main, and the only substantial question is, is the 
doctrine of transubstantiation revealed and commanded in 
the New Testament ? This is the decisive question. The 
doctrine is founded upon the absolute literality of the words 
of the institution of the Lord's supper by its divine author. 
— This is my body; and so of the wine or cup. The 
whole argument turns upon the verb substantive IS. 
Now it is not denied, that this word is used to express other 
notions than that of strict identity; and that in parables 
and elsewhere it is used in the sense of signifies. But it 
has been said, that a sacrament is not a parable. True, 
one thing is not another : but is there not precisely the 
same reason in the one application as in the other to inter- 
pret the words figuratively? and is not the palpable ab- 
surdity of the opposite course direction sufficient, that that 
should be done ? But to leave a line of argument, which 
would bear triumphant amplification, we ask one question — 
in what language, antient or modern, does IS mean CON- 
VERTED INTO? It will be answered, that the doctrine 
of conversion is an inference — the substance is at one in- 
stant one thing, at the next it is another; therefore there 

* See Stillingfleet's Origin. Sacrae, book ii, ch. viii, sec. iii — v, where 
this theory is ably stated. 



1551.] 



SESSION XIII. 



151 



must be a conversion. But this is wandering from the 
word ; the word is IS. IS signifies, either present existence, 
or permanent existence, as in a proposition w T hich is per- 
manently true. And when it is affirmed that one thing IS 
another, it is so in one of these two senses ; but in neither is 
there conversion. The Romanist, however, whose doctrine 
now considered stands upon strict literality, and can stand 
upon nothing else, for, the moment it quits that fastness, it 
wanders into the region of figure, which is destructive to it, 
is hardly sufficiently aware, that, if the body of Christ (to 
say nothing of the blood, and of the cup which IS equally 
the New Covenant) is really, substantially eaten, that same 
body which was crucified, here is at once, and he cannot 
escape it, the gross cannibalism, which he repels as the 
most atrocious calumny upon his faith. But let him 
escape as he can without coming into the enemy's camp, 
and surrendering all his arms. He wishes to do the thing 
without its consequences: and so every professor of tran- 
substantiation does, and must, disavow a doctrine, for the 
disbelief of which his church has sent thousands to the 
flames, while she disbelieves it herself. Her sons may 
shrink from or resent the imputation of such an atrocity as 
feeding upon a literal human body in the sacred feast pre- 
pared for them : they may turn their back upon the autho- 
rized expositions of what they call catholic doctrine, and 
expunge from them the bones and sinews *, and by rights 
should do much more, of their presumed and divine Sa- 
viour : but to do this they must become what they esteem 
heretics. They have absolutely entered the regions of 
figure, than which no spectre from the other world ever 

* There is not in the whole compass of literary or moral delinquency an 
act more disgraceful than that of the Rev. rhetorician, Jer. Donovan, in 
his translation of the Tridentine Catechism, p. 226, where he translates 
— ' The pastor will also explain to the faithful, that in the sacrament are 
' contained not only the true body of Christ, and all the constituents of a 
c true body,' — ( f as hones and sinews' omitted,) — ' but also Christ whole 
' and entire.' The words in the original and the first edition are, I veluti 
' ossa et nervos,' p. 142. 



152 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



terrified sinner more, than this does the church of Rome. 
To expect relief from the word Presence, which will suit any 
subject, from the presence of Christ where two or three 
are assembled in his name, to the fabulous change of bread 
and wine into his human and divine person, is only to pro- 
claim their discomfiture. 

( Brad. My Lord, I believe Christ is present there to 
' the faith of the due receiver : as for transubstantiation, I 
' plainly and flatly tell you I believe it not. 

' L. Chan. We ask no question of transubstantiation, 
' but of Christ's presence*.* 



Session XIV. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 

Doctrine: Penance and Extreme Unction — Reformation : Ecclesiastical 
Regulations. 

The subjects to be determined by the ensuing session were, 
the Sacraments of Penance and Extreme Unction. The 
theologians, with whom the examination of doctrine regularly 
and uniformly began, adhered in the present instance to 
the rules established, of drawing their proofs from Scripture, 
tradition, councils, the authority of the pope, and the consent 
of the Catholic church. They were enjoined to deliver their 
sentiments with brevity ; and the order of speaking, to avoid 
confusion, was, that the theologians of the pontiff should 
take the first place ; those of the emperor were to follow ; 
and so on to the secular and regular clerics. There were 
to be two congregations each day. Warm disputes agitated 
several of these congregations, arising from the known va- 
riety of opinion in the individuals or classes composing 

* Fox, Acts and Monuments, iii, 240, last edition. The reader, who 
knows any thing, knows that this is a part of the examination of the 
martyr Bradford by Stephen Gardiner, bishop of Winchester. 



1551] 



SESSION XIV. 



153 



them. Of the essence and parts of penance the sentiments 
of the disputants were in many cases violently dissonant. 
From Fra Paolo we learn in particular, that an examination 
of the fathers was recommended ; as it would be attended 
with inconvenience, if upon subsequent examination it 
should be discovered, that they were not unanimous on some 
points, which might be decreed. The legate, however, 
settled this matter, by observing, that the consent of the 
majority should be esteemed the consent of the whole. 
Abundance of heretical positions on the two subjects before 
the fathers were discussed and condemned. 

A letter of Vargas, of the 28th of October, confirms what 
is stated of the daily occupation of the divines, and ap- 
plauds the manner in which Malvenda acquitted himself. 
He adds the information, that several protestants, eight 
divines, and others, were expected in a few days, which, he 
says, creates no little alarm at Trent; and he wonders at 
their simplicity in trusting the safe conduct. He does not 
anticipate satisfaction to either party from the proceedings of 
the council, and hears that the protestants mean to revive 
the matter of Justification, with some others. In short, he 
believes, that if affairs proceed in their present course, the 
protestants will return from the council only more exaspe- 
rated. The legate acts with the utmost arrogance, and de- 
clares, that after the next session nothing more shall be done 
in Reformation, but that the council, which he means to bring 
to a close in July next, shall be employed until then in Doc- 
trine only *. 

On Extreme Unction the fathers were nearly agreed. 
There was one, who, from its being recorded by St. Mark, 

* In the French edition of Vargas's Letters, &c. at the end of this, are 
appended extracts from the memoir of the Royal Council of Castile, which 
in the first place insists upon the pope's support of the Inquisition, since it 
is so necessary for the kingdoms of Spain ; Porque el officio de la santa In- 
quisition es muy necessario en estos Regnos, conviene ser muy favorecido. 
The passion of the Spaniards for their Inquisition, says the editor, is de- 
plorable. Let them enjoy it all ! P. 167. 



154 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



that the apostles anointed the sick before the last supper, 
inferred an argument for the doctrine, which procured for it 
the application of the term insinuated. 

The affairs of reformation, although multitudinous, are of 
minor importance, both on account of the subject, and be- 
cause all the ultimate provisions were illusory. 

The Diary, in its account of the presence of two ambassa- 
dors of the Duke of Wirtemberg at the council, states, that 
they declined any particular reverence to, and refused to re- 
cognize, the ministers of the pope, who, when he was ap- 
prized of it, wrote to the legate, that he should admit the am- 
bassadors, that he should observe the bull of Paul III, and 
be firm in avoiding middle and temperate measures, as the 
plague. He did not desire the legate to transfer or dissolve 
the council, but, if he saw occasion, to give business enough 
on doctrine: which would have the two good effects, of 
depriving the Lutherans of any hope of concord but by 
instant submission, and of incensing the prelates against 
them, and occupying them so well, that they should have 
no time to think of reform. If there should be necessity, 
the authority sought by the bishops might be conceded, but 
with all possible reserve. 

The emperor, as we learn from Sarpi, arrived at In- 
spruck at the beginning of November. The pontiff com- 
forted himself, that, if there was war, the emperor would 
have no leisure for the council; and if there were peace, 
he could overwhelm the council with German and Italian 
prelates. 

On the 12th of November Vargas writes, that reforma- 
tion was no more talked of at Trent than if it were never 
again to be mentioned ; and that the legate was studiously 
filling up the time with doctrines so near that of the session, 
that there would be no opportunity of considering the 
subjects. He adds, that two protestants had arrived, he 
supposes, as spies, like the Bohemians, to see how far they 
might depend upon promises. The divines continued their 



1551.] 



SESSION XIV. 



155 



disputations to the end of October ; and then the bishops 
voted upon the articles : after that would come the forma- 
tion of the decrees. He observes, near the conclusion, 
( If a session were to last half a year, it would be the same 
( thing as it is now ; so that we shall have no cause to 

* wonder at any thing that shall be done here, but shall 
f have great cause to be thankful for what they shall leave 

* undone.' 

The fourteenth session was celebrated on the 25th of 
November; and after the usual ceremonies the bishop of 
St. Mark, who had formerly been prevented by a cold, 
preached. 

The present work is supplemental both to the regular 
and professed histories, and to the theological examinations, 
of the Council of Trent ; and therefore I shall confine my- 
self, in the reference to the most voluminous portion which 
we have yet encountered of decrees and canons at one ses- 
sion, to a simple recitation of the division and heads. 

The decree of Penance consists of nine chapters ; that of 
Extreme Unction of three. The canons of the former are 
fifteen; those of the latter four. I just notice the 6th 
canon of penance, as anathematizing him, who affirms, that 
the custom of secretly confessing to the priest alone is a 
human invention. 

The decree of Reformation consists of fourteen chapters, 
and respects the duties of bishops ; the habits of clerics ; 
the prohibition of orders to voluntary homicides ; the union 
of benefices; patronage; presentation. 

The last of these chapters announces the 25th of January 
of the next year, 1552, for the next session, the business of 
which is to be, to determine concerning the sacrifice of the 
mass, to settle the ssacrament of order, and to prosecute the 
subject of reformation. 

Le Plat has not enumerated the persons present at this 
session, but says that they were the same as at the last. 

The Diary says, that the legate prohibited the printing 



156 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[J55L 



of the resolutions of the council, but that they were obtained 
and published in Germany *. 

Few readers can be so unacquainted with ecclesiastical 
history as not to know, that the modern and antient pe- 
nance, or penitence, are two widely different things, even as 
are modern and antient tradition. This is the first con- 
sideration necessary for coming to a legitimate conclusion 
respecting these and many other doctrines of Rome. For 
information, however, on the subject of penance in par- 
ticular, the discourse of Allix on that subject, showing (as 
the title proceeds) how the doctrine of it in the church of 
Rome makes void true repentance, will abundantly satisfy 
the impartial inquirer. It is among the quarto tracts pub- 
lished in opposition to the popery which a crowned bigot 
and tyrant was attempting to impose upon this country 
at the latter part of the 17th century. I would likewise 
here do justice to the merit of the Text Book of Popery, 
comprising a brief history of the Council of Trent, a trans- 
lation of its doctrinal decrees, &c, by J. M. Cramp, which, 
once for all, I would recommend as a complete exposure of 
the imposture of the papal religion, by authorities the most 
unexceptionable, the most decisive, the most condemning. 
The doctrine of the apostate church need but be fairly seen 
to be detested and repudiated. On the subject of Confession, 
the author has referred to the impure and vitiating ten- 
dency of a certain form of examination prescribed, in a popu- 
lar and accredited work, the Garden of the Soul, by Dr. 
Challoner, on the seventh (according to the Roman reckon- 
ing, sixth) commandment. Matter similarly corrupting 
and disgusting may be seen in Dr. Doyle's Catechism for 
youth, or Christian doctrine, &c, p. 117, or an Abridgment 
of Christian Doctrine f , almost a repetition of the former, 

* il legato prohibi che non si starapassero le resolutioni prese, ma in 

Germania furono havuto e publicato. iv. 

f 1 wish to notice the edition of this work now in my hands, and printed 
in Dublin by Grace, printer and bookseller to the General Confraternity of 



1551] 



SESSION XIV. 



157 



under the head of the seven deadly sins. There^seems to 
be a judicial insensibility, indeed propensity, to impurity in 
the papalized mind, which astonishes minds not so tainted. 
The natural apology founded upon the practice of rude and 
simple times, will not avail those who live in times in which 
the secondary meaning of the same words is not the same. 
The attempted justification of the act by reference to the 
language or representations of scripture, which repel the 
parallelism, is an additional illustration and proof of the 
debasing operation of papal principles on the moral sensi- 
bility. The penitential canons of the Roman church, 
although capable of some extenuation, are utterly unfit to 
be perused ; and the system of absolution which they pro- 
duced, particularly the pecuniary taxation, which amounted 
to the price of crime, has justly rendered Rome a proverb 
and an abomination to all but her own world. On parting 
with the subject I would repeat, that no practice is justified 
by assigning to it, although with truth, an innocent, or in 
some respects even a laudable, origin, since there is hardly 
an iniquity recorded in history, of which the same may not 
be affirmed *. 

the Christian Doctrine, but without a date. Why is this ? Because in 
p. 49 there are added, in a parenthesis, the words, ' (though the angel had 
* once before willed him not to do it in regard of his apostolical dignity, 
6 chap, xix., 10,)' where the angel in the Revelation forbids John to adore 
him. Protestants had observed the absence of the passage in earlier editions. 
By omitting the date therefore of the volume, the disgrace was escaped of 
proclaiming its own artifice ; particularly as to the time, and consequently 
occasion, of its insertion. 

* See Taxatio Papalis throughout, or Life and Pont, of St. Pius V, pp. 
263 — 280. The reader will see there, with what palpable ignorance, or 
dishonesty, or both, the late Dr. Milner could defend his church. 

By the Romish prelates of Ireland on a late solemn occasion, and by 
British senators, it has been asserted, that the Absolution of the church of 
England, and that of the church of Rome, are the same. And certainly, if 
it can be proved, that doctrines, in the main substance almost diametrically 
opposite, yet agreeing in a single subordinate circumstance, are identical — 
if the absolution of our church be an integral part of a sacrament, the^fictiti- 
ous one of penance ; if auricular confession and consequent absolution be, not 
voluntary, but compulsory ; if the absolution be not declarative only, but ju- 
dicial, in the person of the pronouncer—then, and not till then, can the alle- 



158 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1551. 



Session XV. 
PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 
Prorogation of Session — Safe Conduct. 

The subjects announced in the last session for establish- 
ment in the ensuing one were the Sacrifice of the Mass, the 
Sacrament of Order, and Reformation. These duly employed 
the industry of the fathers ; but the principal business of the 
council, in the intermediate time, was the reception given to 
the ambassadors of the different protestant princes pre- 
paratory to the attendance of their divines at the Synod, 
and the ultimate submission of their subjects, or adherents, 
to its decrees. 

When it is considered as an indisputable fact, that it was 
the fixed determination of Rome to surrender no one essen- 
tial article of her peculiar creed, or to make one real refor- 

gation be supported with some appearance of truth and decency. Dr. now 
Bp. Philpotts, in his Letters to C. Butler, Esq., has disposed of the insulse 
calumny in a somewhat different, and his own triumphant way. See 
Letter ix. These letters, and especially the supplemental one, should be 
highly valued by every faithful protestant, as a just, however severe, ex- 
posure of the palpably unprincipled contempt of truth of Drs. Doyle and 
Murray, in particular, at their examination by the parliamentary commis- 
sioners in 1824 and 1825, together with the treacherous collusion of the 
commissioners themselves. With this partiality to the papal prelacy, their 
browbeating and petulant illiberality to every protestant is strongly and 
disgracefully contrasted. Had the names been prefixed to each inter- 
rogatory, the effect Avould have been somewhat dramatic ; and he who, in 
the case of his grace of Dublin, conducted the inquisition in the Atha- 
nasian Creed, which might have been done as pertinently in the multipli- 
cation table, would probably have discovered, that his banter was in perfect 
character. I just add, that the argument of the letter-writer in proof of 
the feudality of the episcopal oath of allegiance to the pope, from the clause 
salvo meo ordine, so artfully evaded by the interested Irish doctors, and so 
justly interpreted by himself, as excepting personal service by arms, (which 
would be nonsense, except in a feudal engagement,) is established beyond 
dispute by the gloss upon that clause in the original oath in the Decretals 
of Gregory IX. 1. ii. tit. 24, ed. Venet. 1486 — Secundum quod pertinet ad 
meum honorem : quia non cum armis. Were these masters in their Israel 
ignorant f — See, on the whole subject, an account of the Episcopal Oath, &c, 
subjoined to the Life of Pius V. 



1551.] 



SESSION XV. 



159 



mation of importance, and which would cost her any thing, 
however liberal she might be, for the purpose of more effec- 
tual deception, of minor, simply apparent, and plausible con- 
cessions ; and that on the side of those, who having formerly, 
and some of them long, lived in the atmosphere of her cor- 
ruption, were as w r ell acquainted w ith it as those who con- 
tinued to live in it, and, speaking of the general body, could 
have no motive for a change which would cost them much, 
but a conscientious feeling of the urgent duty of making it, 
and would therefore be doubly armed against the concession 
of any essential points in the controversy between them 
and the forsaken church — it is scarcely conceivable, that two 
parties, so arrayed in respect of each other, should ever 
unite in so solemn and public an adjustment of their differ- 
ences as that of a general council. 

The Venetian historian must be our authority for any 
thing concerning doctrine. Immediately after the session 
was a general congregation to dispose of the sacrifice of the 
mass, the communion of the cup, and that of children. Al- 
though decrees had been formed on these subjects for the 
session of the 11th of October, they were discussed afresh, 
as if nothing had been done. The fathers held their meet- 
ing twice a day to expedite matters ; thirteen canons were 
formed, heresies were condemned, and there were four chap- 
ters of a decree on Doctrine prepared. All was finished 
about Christmas ; but as there were no decrees passed in 
the ensuing session, the author declines entering into further 
detail. 

Our manuscript authority informs us, that the ambas- 
sadors of the Duke of Wittemberg made their appearance 
at the council, with instructions to present a declaration of 
their doctrine to the fathers. But the legate was instructed 
by the pontiff to say, that it was not convenient that such 
doctrine should be received by the council, but that the 
protestants should come humbly to the council and declare 
their opinions, and not expect any other safe conduct than 



160 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[155L 



what had been given, which was the best that could be given. 
The same was said to the imperial ambassador. 

The five ambassadors of Strasburg and other cities wished 
to present their doctrine, and were desired to wait for the 
coming of those of Saxony. 

These latter came with many theologians, and demanded 
a safe conduct, similar to that of Basil, — that the proceedings 
should be suspended and re-examined, that the pope should 
have no authority over, but be subject to, the council, and 
that the bishops should be released from their oath, in order 
that they might speak their minds without bias or restraint. 
They were answered, that the safe conduct should remain, 
that it was not right that four secretaries should disturb a 
council, and that they should receive public audience, but 
that they must acknowledge the legate and nuncios ; that 
what they required about the pope was impertinent and 
heretical ; and that death would be preferred to listening to 
them. 

The legate was persuaded to receive the ambassadors at 
a general congregation in his own house, which might be 
construed into an acknowledgment. The protestants re- 
newed their claim of a safe conduct, like that of Basil, which 
allowed a decisive voice, the decision of scripture, the private 
exercise of their religion, and security against any injury or 
vituperation of their doctrine. 

At one of the general congregations * the Saxon ambas- 
sadors, giving the title of most reverend and apostolic to the 
fathers, said, that the elector Maurice desired for his theolo- 
gians the same safe conduct as was given by the Council of 
Basil. The Wittemberg ambassadors followed, remonstrating 
against the injustice ; that their doctrine, which was opposite 
to that of the pope, should be judged by his adherents. 
The legate replied, that an answer would be given in due 
time. 

* The date in the MS. is January 25, but it is not likely, if possible, 
that it would be on the day of the session. 



1552.] 



SESSION XV. 



161 



In a letter of Vargas of the 7th of December, the legate is 
represented as insisting that the Protestants should, in the 
first instance, promise submission to the council, which, he 
says, would be to drive them from the council. Of the date 
of the 29th of December is a very long letter, representing the 
object of the pope to be, either suspension or speedy termi- 
nation of the council. He protests strongly, and at great 
length, against the suspension, but concludes with the opinion, 
that suspension is preferable to termination. In the view of 
the difficulty he thinks it would have been a happy thing if 
the council had never met. The war proceeding, there was 
the more necessity for the continuance of the council. 

The fifteenth session was held on the 25th of January, 
1552. Service being performed, and the sermon preached 
by Campeggio, Bishop of Majorca, the decree to the fol- 
lowing purport was read : — That the council, — having pre- 
pared matters relating to the sacrifice of the mass and the 
sacrament of order, as well as four articles on the eucharist, 
seeing the Protestants who were expected were not come, 
and an assurance was given that with a more ample safe 
conduct they would, — desiring nothing more earnestly than 
the recovery of opposers to the Catholic faith, and obedience 
to the church, has deferred the fore-mentioned decrees to 
the next session of the 19th of March, and gives the safe 
conduct, of which a copy is subjoined. It orders the sacra- 
ment of matrimony to be examined, and the business of 
reformation to be proceeded in. 

The safe conduct is about half as long again as the pre- 
ceding one, but'not according with the expressed wishes of 
the protestants. It gives full liberty to all of the protestant 
persuasion who shall come to the council ; and promises, 
that the subjects to be discussed shall be treated according 
to the scriptures, traditions, &c. ; that criminals shall be 
judged only by. those of their party; and that no advantage 
will be taken of them by means of the authority of any 
council, particularly those of Constance and Sienna. 

A letter of Vargas, written on this very day, throws a o-ood 

M 



162 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1552. 



deal of light upon the character of the council, and its chief 
agent in particular. The legate was induced with much 
difficulty to make the safe conduct as little objectionable as 
it was ; but the writer observes, that it did not go to the 
extent of giving license to the protestant worship as that of 
Basil did. He thinks, however, that the protestants ought 
to be content with it ; and that Melancthon and his com- 
panions would have nothing to plead in their excuse for not 
appearing. So radical is the intolerance with which popery 
poisons her most liberal subjects ! 

The names of fourteen prelates are given by Le Plat, as 
attendants at this abortive session. 



Session XVI. 

PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Suspension — Subsequent Events. 

The fathers had commenced their labours upon the subject 
proposed to them. But the emperor, being requested by 
the protestants to interfere, that the disputations should be 
suspended until the arrival of their theologians, despatched 
an ambassador to the pope to induce him to comply with 
the request. However, in a general congregation it was 
determined, that such suspension should take place, and that 
the business of the council should wait its pleasure to be 
resumed. The pontiff was much offended with this antici- 
pation, and ordered business at all events to proceed*. 

* In a MS. collection of letters of various pontiffs which I have con- 
sulted, occurs one of Julius III. to Crescentio, in which speaking of the 
proposals of the Spanish prelates, he says, ' that however well suited they 
might be for Spain, they would create confusion in the rest of Christianity.' 
His holiness proceeds to declare, that he does not wish to decline reforma- 
tion, nor with his predecessor postpone it by proposing, that the secular 
princes should reform themselves at the same time ; but, add she, 1 we desire 
c to begin from ourselves without delay, and that every abuse may be re- 
' moved, but without taking away the power which we have immediately 



1552.] 



SESSION XVI. 



163 



To the information in print that, about the end of 
February, the Saxon ambassadors had orders to continue 
their negotiations with the council, that it was reported that, 
the king of France had entered into a league with the pro- 
testants, and that a congregation was held deferring the day 
of session to the 1st of May ; the diary adds, partly in con- 
formity with the source just mentioned, that the Elector of 
Treves had left the council, owing to some disgust taken 
with the protestants, or, as was supposed, to arrange with 
the French king* ; the Saxon ambassadors likewise fleeing 
from Trent, and the electors also taking their leave. 

Four theologians, however, arrived from Wittemberg and 
Strasburg, and demanded an answer to their proposal from 
the legate, who told them that it would be settled in the 
next session. He was then beginning to be much indisposed. 

In the war of the protestants with the emperor which had 
commenced, the Elector of Saxony took Augsburg ; and the 
whole Tyrol put itself in arms, and repaired to Inspruck. 
Upon this all the Italians retired to Verona by the Adige, 
and the protestants departed. The nuncios sent to Rome 
an account of the illness of the legate ; and authority came 
by a papal bull, as Fra Paolo informs us, to suspend the 
council. The session was accordingly fixed for the 28th of 

4 from God. Ma volemo che si incominci da noi senza induggiare, et si cor- 
1 regghino e tolghino via tutti gli abusi, ma non si tolghi gia la potesta, la 
4 quale havemo immediate da Dio.' The letter is dated January 16, 1552. 
This is the pontiff's own testimony concerning himself. 

* In a letter of the 26th of February, 1552, Vargas writes, ' 1 am appre- 
* hensive lest the pope, finding himself pressed hard by both protestants and 
4 catholics, may strike up a peace with the French ; and I am very much 
4 mistaken if he and his ministers are not at this time plotting some bold 
6 thing, Avhich nothing but fear will keep them from executing.' He had 
just before said, that the coming of the protestants would enable them to 
surmount all their difficulties, that is, 1 suppose, if they would be cajoled 
into surrendering and submitting. In an earlier letter Vargas discovers a 
truly papal mind. Speaking of the council, 4 believing that Christ will not 
' suffer them to err in their determinations, I shall bow down my head to 
4 them, and believe all the matters of faith that shall be decided by them : 
4 1 pray God every body else may do the same.' Nov. 26, 1551. Geddes, 
p. 43. 

M 2 



164 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1552. 



April, as it appeared inexpedient to keep to the day which 
had been appointed, the 1st of May. 

At this precipitated session, the sixteenth, a decree was 
read to the following effect : — that when the council appeared 
to be raising its head, suddenly wars and tumults were 
kindled by the arch enemy in Germany, which produced a 
general departure from Trent ; that, therefore, the council 
was conditionally suspended for two years ; and that, in the 
mean time, the council exhorted all Christian princes and 
prelates to observe, and cause to be observed, everything 
hitherto enacted and decreed in the holy council. 

Le Plat gives the names of twelve bishops who protested 
against the suspension, all Spaniards but one, a Sardinian. 
The rest of his list I do not understand, as it appears to be 
supplemental to the whole number who had attended during 
all the sessions under Julius III. There are only two arch- 
bishops, and three bishops, Greeks, and one German. 

The legate was not present. He remained ill at Verona, 
and shortly after died. His arbitrary and irritable disposi- 
tion, upon which the perplexities and vexations of such an 
assembly as that at Trent would operate with frightful effect, 
were doubtless the immediate cause of his premature dis- 
solution. 

The concluding portion of the decree was censured at 
Rome, as assuming the authority properly belonging to the 
pope. 

The emperor was reduced to great difficulties by the war, 
the success of which on the part of the protestant princes 
enabled them to recall their preachers, and reinstate the 
confession of Augsburg in its former authority, which put an 
end to the Interim. The peace of Passau, in 1552, did not 
hasten the resumption of the council*. 

The death of Edward VI. of England, the accession of 
Mary I., the marriage of this princess with Philip, son of 
the emperor, and the reconciliation of this kingdom to the 
* For this fact see Sarpi. 



1555.] 



SESSION XVI. 



165 



Roman see, revived the hopes of the papacy with respect to 
a dominion so lately wrested from its grasp. 

In 1555 was assembled a diet at Augsburg, where Fer- 
dinand, presiding in the name of the emperor, recommended 
a colloquy for the settlement of the public religion. This 
displeased the pope, who lamented that he had always to 
contend either with a council, or with a diet, or with a col- 
loquy; but he rendered thanks to God, that if he was 
afflicted as respects Germany, he was consoled by the re- 
turning obedience of England. He sent, however, into Ger- 
many the cardinal Morone, to procure that, after the example 
of England, it might acknowledge its error, and, above all 
things, dismiss the thoughts of a colloquy. 

Morone was recalled to Rome by the death of the pope, 
who was succeeded by his former colleague, the second 
legate, cardinal della S. Croce, who retained his name, and, 
as pontiff, became Marcellus II. He seemed to have been 
well disposed to reform, but was speedily withdrawn from 
his dignity and his good intentions : these would probably 
with time have dwindled into nothing-. He reigned but 
twenty -one days. 

His successor, Paul IV, was a very different person. He 
was elected against the will of the emperor, who, in the diet 
of Augsburg, announced a liberty in religion, of which his 
holiness told him he would make him repent. Ferdinand 
called a diet at Vienna, and, in consideration of a contribu- 
tion against the Turk, allowed to Austria and Bavaria the 
communion of the cup, and unrestrained eating of flesh. 

The pope began his pontificate with the institution of a 
congregation of 150 cardinals, prelates, and others, divided 
into three classes, to whom were proposed printed inquiries, 
copies of which were sent to all the princes. A congregation 
assembled on the 26th of March, in which the subject 
debated was, that of receiving money for the performance of 
spiritual offices, which the pope resolved to prohibit by a 
bull. This, however, was not executed, because it was said 
such a regulation required the authority of a council. The 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1556. 



pope insisted upon his own superiority, and that of the ser- 
vants by whom he was surrounded at Rome. 

In 1556 Charles V. retired to a monastery, and exhibited 
to the world the humiliating contrast of a temporal prince 
resigning a secular for a religious life, and, on the other hand, 
a spiritual one in his old age, abandoning himself to worldly 
pomp and pride, and the attempt to plunge all Europe into 
war. 

His holiness incarcerated cardinal Morone and the bishop 
of Modena, as suspected of heresy ; and, depriving cardinal 
Pole of the legation of England, cited him before the inqui- 
sition. He had already imprisoned the bishop of Cava, his 
friend. 

The kings of France and Spain united in inflicting death 
upon presumed heretics. The protestants, however, held a 
convention in the suburbs of Paris, where they established 
many ecclesiastical regulations. 

The king of France, Henry II, died about the middle of 
the year 1559, and the pope followed him in August. The 
latter was one of those at whose death the world, for its own 
sake, has a right to rejoice. The public indignation of the 
city vented itself, on the occasion, upon every memorial of 
this man of the inquisition and of blood. It is recorded, as 
a counsel of his, that more dependence was to be placed, for 
religious adjustment, , upon the holy tribunal than upon a 
council, which, he said, had always done more harm than 
good. The world owes to him the first formal and authori- 
tative publication of an Index of prohibited Books, with suit- 
able penalties. It appeared in the ominous year of his death*. 

In the congregations, novendiali, it was resolved that it 
was necessary to restore the council. 

In the interval between the death of the last, and the elec- 
tion of a new pontiff, which was considerable, owing to the 
disturbed state of the city, Philip, king of Spain, arrived in 
his own country, and, having inured himself to the shedding 
of christian blood in England, he put the same means in ex- 

* See an account of this engine of darkness and tyranny in the Literary 
Policy of the Church of Rome, &c, pp. 39—53. 



1559.] 



SESSION XVI. 



167 



ecution in Spain for the extinction of what his ignorance 
esteemed heresy ; and hy the instrumentality of the infernal 
tribunal, with its Autos de Fe, consumed in the flames some 
of the noblest and best blood in his kingdom. 

On the 24th of December, 1559, cardinal Giovanni 
Angelo de' Medici was created pope with the name of 
Pius IV. Shortly after his elevation, he conferred with his 
cardinals respecting the resumption of the council ; and, par- 
ticularly, on the 3d of June in the following year, assembled 
all the ambassadors in Rome, and proposed Trent as the place. 
The proposal was applauded. His holiness wrote to all the 
nuncios in different courts ; but in speaking of the council he 
did not fail to enumerate several impediments and difficulties 
arising from the disposition of princes, or from the circumstances 
of different places in the neighbourhood of Trent. On the 
29th of November was published the bull for convening the 
council, and nuncios were despatched to all the princes, even 
to those of England and Muscovy, as well as the protestant 
heretics, to invite them to the council ; the pontiff observing, 
that it became him to humble himself even to heretics, in 
order to gain souls to Christ. Against this bull Vergerio 

o DO 

wrote an invective *. 

* There was, in 1553, a very suitable tract published by this able and 
conscientious convert, entitled, Concilium non modo Tridentinum, sed omne 
Papisticum perpetuo fugiendum esse omnibus piis. Autore Vergerio. Anno 
M.D.LIII. It contains, what were never before found together, which is the 
alleged reason for the publication, several pieces absolutely necessary to 
enable the protestants of the time to form a just judgment of the real state 
of the case and their own — such as, the safe conduct proposed — that of 
Basil — the oath of the bishops — that of the pope — the canon that faith is 
not to be kept with heretics — the catalogue of heretics lately published, &c, 
to the number of eighteen. As a motto is prefixed: — 

MUSCULUS. 

Causa dijudicanda quae ? Coniroversia inter Papistas et Luther- 
anos. 

Judices qui? Papa cum suis conjuratis Episcopis et Prcelatis } 

seductionis a Lutheranis annos supra 30 accusatu 
Accusatores qui ? Iidem qui et judices. 
Rei qui ? Luiherani, Papatus accusatores. 

Damnabuntur qui ? Nec judices, nec accusatores Lutkeranorum, 
sed Lutherani, accusatores Papistarum. 

In 



In Concilio 
Tridentino^ 



168 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1560 



On the death of Francis II, Charles IX, his brother, 
ascended the throne of France. By the advice of his parlia- 
ment, the young king, or his mother, ordered all the prelates 
of the kingdom to put themselves in readiness to go to 
Trent. 

Two papal nuncios were desired by the emperor and the 
king of Bohemia to attend the diet of Naumburg, to invite 
the protestant princes to the council, who answered, that 
they would not refuse, on condition that the word of God 
should be the judge, that the bishops should be released 
from their oath, and that their theologians should be on an 
equality with the rest. 

The nuncio Commendone was sent to the king of Denmark, 
who said, that neither his father nor he had ever had any 
dealings with the pope, and he did not wish any communica- 
tion with him. Martinengo, who had received a similar 
commission to the queen of England, was denied admittance, 
with the intelligence that the pope had no authority in her 
dominions, and that without the consent of her parliament 
she could not allow him an audience. 

The French protestants were so pressing for communion 
under both kinds, that the pope, after ineffectually negotiat- 
ing and shuffling for some time, was obliged at last to refer 
the matter to the council. 

We leave now the guide by whom we have been feebly 
assisted, for the more accessible, and at the same time more 
minute and satisfactory one, the History of the Council of 

In 1556, the same writer put forth, anonymously, a work of a good deal 
of force and pungency under the title, Actiones Duse Secretarii Pontificii : 
quarum altera disputat : An Papa Paulus IV debeat cogitari de instaurando 
Concilio Tridentino (magna enim est spes de pace) : altera verd, an vi et ar- 
mis possit deinde imperare protestantibus ipsius Concilii Decreta. Under 
his fictitious character the author impresses the hopelessness of the renewal 
of the council for the end in view, and has ably stated the artful and en- 
snaring variation of the safe conduct offered to the Protestants, from that 
which they required of Basil. And the hopes from force, in the second 
Actio, he proves to be very unfounded. In 1559, he added a third Actio, 
confirming this. See concerning this work Freytag Adparatus Litt. torn, iii., 
pp. 532—5. 



1561.] 



SESSION 



XVI. 



169 



Trent, which is sufficient designation*. The time for the 
re-opening of the council, which had been appointed for 
Easter day, in 1561, was drawing nigh. It was necessary 
for his holiness to select his legates. The choice fell upon 
Hercole Gonzaga, cardinal of Mantua, and another, for 
whom, on account of illness, was substituted cardinal Seri- 
pando. The affairs of France in respect of religion, par- 
ticularly the colloquy of Poissyf, agitated the pope violently, 
and made him welcome a council as the least of the evils 
with which he saw himself surrounded. He exerted himself, 
therefore, to give a beginning to the renewed council. He 
increased the number of legates, by the addition of Ludovico 
Simonetta, a great canonist, and Marco di Altemps, his 

* Fra Paolo, v. 68, &c.,in Courayer's Translation. 

f For the most satisfactory account of this colloquy, see the Rev. E. 
Smedley's History of the Reformed Religion in France, vol. i. ch. v. through- 
out. Before the appearance of the present work, this interesting portion of 
ecclesiastical history in English was a desideratum ; and it is a gratification 
to the Christian and reading public, that it is so well supplied. If the suc- 
ceeding volume equal that which has appeared, all true protestants will 
have cause to rejoice. It will, however, by some be regretted, that the con- 
duct of those to whom the name of Calvinist was applied, not from the 
adoption of the main and most obnoxious doctrine, but from the services 
and general Christianity of a great and good man, is sometimes, particularly 
in the accounts of the synods of those persecuted Christians, both censured 
and represented in a way which the better reflexion of the able author 
would not perhaps perfectly approve. The ministers who were principally 
concerned in these synods, seem to have acted most conscientiously 
under the influence of the fear of God ; and it is difficult to conceive 
how a conscientious clergyman of the church of England, explaining 
the obligation ' to renounce the pomps and vanities of this wicked world,' 
could have expressed himself in a manner essentially different from that 
which these holy men adopted. It may be not uninstructive to learn how 
one striking incident of this important conference is represented by the 
Venetian, Milledoni. Teodoro Besa heretico, con 15 suoi seguaci, alia 
presenza del Re, Reina, e Re di Navarra, . . . diede una scrittura a sua M ta * 
Christ ma - della sua fede, che era quella del Calvino sacramentario, e la pou- 
dero passo per passo, e quando fu al passo ove si niega il santissimo Sacra- 
mento, ognuno si mut6 di colore, e il Cardinal di Tornone disse alia Regina, 
che non sopportasse tal blastema alia presenza del Re suo figliolo. Onde il 
Besa si perse d'animo, e non seppe piu continuare. Did this poor bigot sup- 
pose Beza's doctrine to be a denial of the sacrament ? 



170 COUNCIL OF TRENT. [1561. 

nephew. With Stanislao Osio*, who was appointed before, 
the addition was three : five, therefore, in all*)-. Simonetta 
was 'sent to Trent at the beginning of December, to open the 
council without delay ; but he was unable to do so. 

In this manner was passed the ten years' interruption of the 
celebrated council of Trent. As the present does not pretend 
to the character of a regular history of that assembly, and still 
less of the times which intervened between the periods of its 
actual existence and proceedings, we have contented ourselves 
with a brief sketch of the events in question, as they seemed 
necessary to connect the distant histories of the council, and 
render them sufficiently intelligible. He who would enter 
into the views, most of them very distant from religious ones, 
of the parties who from their station and power assumed the 
management of this professedly religious congress, may find 
as much as will satisfy him, in the acute, laborious, and 
generally accurate Venetian, who had access to documents 
not now accessible, and whose fidelity has been established 
by the accidental confirmation supplied, by such documents 
as since his time have been brought to light. 

At this time, about the middle of the year> the Christians 
of the valleys of Piemont, who had been goaded by fresh 
persecution into self-defence, in opposition however to the 
admonitions of their pastors, were favoured by that God, 
whose cause was theirs likewise, with a victory so complete 
and bloodless on their part, as to be- esteemed miraculous by 
others as well as themselves. In 1555, anti-christian male- 
volence had impelled those spiritual janizaries, the monks, 
with the clergy and bigoted secular rulers, especially the 
duke of Savoy, to molest them in every possible way ; and 
the passion growing with what produced it, issued in the 
brutal attack made upon them by the Lord of Trinity, 

* He is better known by the Latin form, Hosius. He was bishop of 
Ermeland, in Eastern Prussia, in Latin, Varmia or Warmia. 

f Courayer, in a note on c. lxxviii., observes, that Simonetta had been 
named as one of the legates at the same time as Seripando and Osio. In 
the present instance the inaccuracy is trifling. 



1561.] SESSION XVI. 171 

who was repulsed with shame and slaughter, and a peace 
honourable for the conquerors was obtained, and confirmed 
by an edict. We must claim for these meritorious sufferers, 
for such they were even in their victories, the title of mar- 
tyrs, or witnesses, if the cause, the cause of faith and the 
gospel, make the martyr, and unless simple passivity be a 
necessary ingredient of martyrdom, and the apostle's enume- 
ration of martyrs be incorrect by including those who ' sub- 
dued kingdoms,' and ' waxed valiant in fight*.' 



Session XVII. 

PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 
Celebration of the Council under Pius IV. 

At the third opening of the council and to its conclusion, 
the period at which we are now arrived, the assistance of our 
manuscripts returns in full force. Among them our principal 
guide for the remainder of our journey will be, the Acta of 
Gabriel Paleotto, who after the rising of the council became 
cardinal, bishop of several sees successively, and archbishop 
of one of them, Bologna. 

During the time that the council was sitting, the author's 
own account of himself will be perhaps our best, certainly 
most appropriate, authority. Throughout the whole of his 
work, which is generally described in the Preface, it will be 
evident, that the writer is a devoted servant of the Roman 
see. The very commencement is expressive of that principle. 
In most of such productions as the present, which possibly 
had no title, or would guard against the loss of it, the writer 

* Heb. xi. 33, 34. For the preceding statement, see Memorabilis His- 
toria Persecutionum Bellorumque in Populum vulgo Valdensem appellatum, 
Angrun. Lusern. Sanmartin. Perusin., &c. ab anno 1555 ad 1561, religionis 
ergo gestorum. Gen. 1581, 8vo. ; Leger, Hist. Gen. des Eglises des Vallies 
de Piemont ou Vaudoises, Deuxieme Partie, pp. 28-40 ; and Thuani Hist, 
xxvii. 8-14. Many other historians might be cited, and, not the least of 
them, our faithful martyrologist. 



172 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1561. 



has expressly introduced his own name and designation, and, 
as is here the case, an account of his work. Paleotto, ac- 
cordingly, having first asserted the value of the peculiar 
description of history which he had undertaken, and the 
authority of the head of his church, proceeds to write, that 
when Pius IV, supreme pontiff, had determined upon com- 
pleting the council, he sent the writer, one of the twelve 
auditors of the Rota, to be present at it. Paleotto resolved, 
in the time which was his own, after the performance of his 
public duties, to commit to writing the transactions of which 
he was an ocular witness. He amplifies, in the discussion 
of the subjects submitted to the fathers, their admirable 
subtlety, variety, judgment, and learning; and enters with 
interest, as well as particularity, into the details. In the 
present volume, which is sufficiently bulky, he professedly 
declines inserting public documents, having devoted to that 
department another work, to which he satisfies himself with 
making references, as he regularly does. Fortunately, these 
pieces are to be found published in accessible collections, and 
particularly in the magnificent and comprehensive one of 
Le Plat. Paleotto magnifies the advantages supplied by 
his office, and professes to have subjected his performance to 
the inspection and criticism of many of the gravest of the 
fathers, who formed a part of the council, and who advised 
him to make his labours public for the common use of the 
Christian republic. This he modestly refers to the judg- 
ment of his superiors, who, with the permission of the chief 
Roman pontiff, may consider whether such a measure would 
be subservient to the benefit of the Holy Church. They 
have not yet so thought, nor was it likely from the honesty 
of the contents that they ever would. The author then ex- 
presses an apprehension, that the disclosures made in his 
narrative of the numerous contentions, complaints, suspicions, 
calamines, and sad events, appearing there, might be re- 
garded as an aspersion upon the glory of the assembly. But 
lie is satisfied that the exhibition will turn to its credit, as 
discovering the continual ambushes of demons to obstruct 



1561.] 



SESSION XVII. 



173 



what is good, and particularly as evincing the perfect liberty 
of speech allowed in the council. — If this could have been 
prevented by the heads of the council ; or if any thing like 
the freedom required had been granted to the protestants, 
the statement would have been worth something. However, 
the auditor is a good rhetorician ; and in a fine round sen- 
tence, bringing before the reader in full detail the most 
grave fathers constituting the synod, and beginning with 
those of England and Scotland, he is overwhelmed with 
admiration of the divine wisdom, which shed its riches so 
munificently upon this most holy assembly. It is somewhat 
amusing to find, in the sequel, the writer congratulating him- 
self upon its being not one of the least valuable fruits of the 
Tridentine council, that in future the most holy Roman pon- 
tiffs will not be so importunately called upon to celebrate 
new councils. The heretics in particular could have no 
hopes from the same quarter, being self-convicted by refusing, 
notwithstanding the invitation and offers of security, to come 
into the field. They would have been heard. Yes : heard 
by those who were eager, empowered, and sworn to condemn 
them. It has been sufficiently seen what those calumniously 
called heretics required, and what was denied. 

Leaving these preliminaries, and approaching his subject, 
the acts of the first session, after expressing his intention 
of beginning in some measure at the causes, the author 
makes the following prayer : ' May I be assisted, while 
< meditating such an undertaking, by the celestial fa- 
' vour of the Holy Spirit, communicating his light and 
' truth, that being illuminated thereby, I may faithfully 
( write in such a way as to promote his eternal glory, the 
' advancement of his church, the profit of readers, and 
' the remission of my own sins.' The simplest act in de- 
votion is thus defiled by the unwholesome breath of papal 
theology. 

It is unnecessary for us to follow the historian from the 
beginning of the council under Paul III. What has pre- 
ceded in the present work is sufficient introduction. At the 



174 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1561, 



renewal of the council at the time with which we are now r 
concerned, by Pius IV, a difficulty occurred in the outset, 
as our present authority states it, whether the council then 
about to be held at Trent should be considered as a con- 
tinuation of what had formerly been held at that place, or 
a new one. Philip, king of Spain, had introduced some of 
the regulations already enacted into his kingdom, and he 
did not wish to nullify his own acts, which would be done 
by making or calling the future council a new one. On the 
other hand, the Germans and French contended, that 
hitherto the council had not been free ; and if the absentees 
who might be induced to attend in future were considered as 
bound by proceedings in which they had no part, incon- 
veniences would result, which could only be obviated by 
making the council about to be convened, really as well as 
nominally, a new council. 

The pope submitted this question to an extraordinary 
assembly of the principal ecclesiastical authorities at Rome ; 
and the result was, that the letters which he issued to the 
secular powers should be, and were, expressed in a way 
which waived the question, by applying the ambiguous 
term celebration to the indicted council. The letters were 
despatched to the principal sovereigns, without pretermit- 
ting the sovereign of England, Queen Elizabeth. 

By our plan we are compelled to abridge, and therefore 
pass over a considerable quantity of the matter of our au- 
thor. The legates had fixed upon the 1st of January for 
opening the council ; but as it was found, that numbers 
who resolved to attend it could not be in readiness by that 
day, it was, with approbation of his holiness, postponed to 
the 18th. While this day w T as anxiously expected, the 
Spaniards in their private meetings contrived that the 
council should be publicly reported as a continuation. 
And notwithstanding the discouragement which this would 
give to the doubtful, they persisted with increased energy 
in their requirement. The legates appointed the 15th of 
January for the first general congregation ; and, to satisfy 



1562.] 



SESSION XVII. 



175 



the Spaniards, directed that the words of the decree in the 
next session should begin in such a way as not to appear 
that the present were disjoined from the prior acts of the 
council ; and proper persons were deputed to draw up the 
decree in conformity with the ambiguous terms of the papal 
letters. 

The first general congregation was held- on the 15th of 
January, 1562. Of these congregations some were public, 
some private. Of the former, the first were held in the house 
of the legate ; they afterwards assembled in the temple of 
S. Maria Maggiore. The seats were disposed in the form of 
a theatre, to contain about 250 persons,, with a space in the 
middle to receive occasionally a larger company. When 
the legates made their appearance, they were preceded by 
a silver cross, which was placed in the centre. They sat in 
front in an elevated place, surrounded with costly orna- 
ments, the cardinal of Mantua in the middle, the other 
legates on each side, and dignitaries of all descriptions 
according to rank. The prelates took their place according 
to the priority of their respective dignities. The chief 
legate, after the company which was not of the council was 
dismissed, pronounced the invocation of the Holy Spirit, 
which is prescribed in the pontifical, and is here repeated. 

The private congregations, as the name implies, were 
select, and consisted of a certain number of the fathers : 
they were held in the houses of the legates. 

The congregations were a kind of preludes of the ses- 
sions, and the two points discussed in them were Doctrine 
and Reformation. 

The plan proposed was — to begin generally with matters 
of faith or doctrine, and, as had hitherto been the practice, 
go through the seven Sacraments. Certain articles or pro- 
blems were proposed to the minor theologians, eminent 
for professional acquirements. Their labours were ex- 
amined by select fathers, and reduced to the form of a 
canon or decree, which was submitted to the more mature 
counsel of a general congregation. Decrees concerning 



176 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



manners or morals were not put into the hands of the theo- 
logians, but the legates took them in a great measure into 
their own, availing themselves of a consultation with certain 
ambassadors or prelates, to be finally inspected by them- 
selves, with the tacit understanding, that the graver points 
should first reach the ears of their most holy lord, who would 
signify by letter what was best to be done ; and the decrees 
of reformation would be constructed accordingly ; which de- 
crees they submitted to the deliberation of the synod, with- 
out any mention of the opinion of the pontiff ; and they were 
received, or rejected, or modified by the fathers, as they saw 
fit *. ' In all this,' proceeds our author, apologetically, 
' there was nothing which detracted from the liberty of the 
' fathers ; since the subject underwent various progressive 
e examinations, and was elaborated and polished by such 
e operations, so as to become fit for the adoption of the 
e session ; before which, they did not obtain conciliar 
e force.' 

At the congregation at this time celebrated, the Cardinal 
of Mantua congratulated the fathers, that the day was now 
arrived, when the object most earnestly desired by his holi- 
ness, the long-expected council, should be opened, by which 
the impious doctrines of heretics should be eradicated, the 
depraved manners of the faithful be corrected f, and its 
splendour be restored to the catholic church. He was like- 
wise greatly rejoiced to see before him so large an assem- 
blage of fathers, from which the happiest results might be 
anticipated. He then directed the secretary to read "the 
order which should be observed in the solemnities of the 
day of session, and likewise the decrees, which were then 
to await the approbation of the fathers. The two decrees 
were accordingly read ; and cardinal Madruccio returned 
thanks to his holiness for the attention which he had shewn 
by this measure to the necessities and interests of the Chris- 

* , idque eo tacite consilio, ut graviora ad Sanctissimi Domini nostri 
aures prius perferrent, &c. — dissimulata tamen summi pontificis raeme, Sec. 
f depravati fidelium mores emendari, &c. 



1562.] 



SESSION XVII. 



177 



tian republic. All the rest assented. The legate, in order 
to guard against any disputation respecting the order of 
speaking and the interruption to business which might 
follow, directed the letters of his holiness on that subject to 
be read. 

The breve of his holiness, and the declaration of the legates 
respecting the mode of sitting in the council were then read; 
after which the congregation separated, congratulating each 
other upon the prosperous commencement of the council, and 
the unanimity whieh appeared among them ; w r hen, lo ! on 
the very next day, the archbishop of Granada raised a dis- 
pute respecting the words of the decree, contending that the 
clause, proponentibus legatis ac prcesidentibus, should be 
expunged as being new, and as, by appearing to limit the 
liberty of speech, particularly offensive and repulsive to the 
heretical adversaries. The bishop of Tilesio, secretary of 
the council, in the name of the legates, endeavoured to ex- 
plain the phrase as not intended to restrain the discussions 
of the speakers, and added, that before the degree was read 
publicly, it was privately shown to the archbishop and others, 
and that it was now too late to alter it. Guerrero was not 
convinced, but complained vehemently, that three days ago 
a copy of this decree was sent to him, in which the clause in 
question was not contained *, although it was afterwards 
publicly read in the congregation, without his attending to 
it. Since, however, the thing was discovered, it was better 
to correct it, than to increase one fault by the addition of a 
new one. 

The day of the session, the 18th of January, was now 
arrived, and the historian describes the ceremonies attending 
it as an example of all the remaining ones. The whole 
company assembled at St. Peter's, and made a procession in 
the usual form, and with great pomp, to the cathedral of Sr. 

* Nihilo aequior redditus id maxime dolebat sibi nudius tertius exemplum 
hujus decreti inissum fuisse, quod clausulam hanc non continebat : fatebatur 
quidem, &c, 

N 



178 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



Vigilius. There, with every exhibition of magnificence, they 
disposed themselves according to prescribed order, and per- 
formed the religious services as directed in the Pontifical. 
The bull for the celebration of the council, dated November 
the 29th, 1560, was read by the secretary. The officiating 
prelate then received the decrees from the legates in a 
napkin, kneeling, and afterwards read them. 

The first decree, in substance, submitted to the approba- 
tion of the assembled fathers, whether the holy ecumenical 
council should, on the. day then present, the 18th of January, 
1562, be celebrated, and in it those things in due order be 
treated of, which, the legates proposing them and presiding, 
should appear to the holy synod fit and proper for alle- 
viating the calamities of the present times for settling religious 
controversies, for coercing deceitful tongues, for correcting 
abuses arising from depraved manners, and for obtaining 
true and Christian peace to the church. 

All approved except the following. The archbishop of 
Granada delivered a paper, stating his objections to the 
clause before alluded to, and on the same grounds, and de- 
manded that an authentic instrument should be drawn of 
his protest. The protest of Blanco, bishop of Orense, was 
to the same purpose ; but he added, that the clause did not 
appear in the bull convoking the council, to which the decree 
for opening it ought to respond. The rest he approved. 
De Cuesta^ bishop of Leon, said, that he approved the 
clause, provided the legates proposed such things as had 
appeared to the council worthy of being proposed: to the 
same effect the bishop of Almeria. 

The second decree, for appointing that the next session 
should be held on the 26th of February following, was 
universally approved. 

The number present at the opening of this third assembly 
of the council is not given in Le Piatt's edition of the 
Canons and Decrees. But he has given the names of the 
four Spanish protesting prelates from manuscript sources ; 



1562.] 



SESSION XVIII. 



179 



and the substance of their protests, as there given, is in per- 
fect accordance, as might be expected, with the representa- 
tion transferred above from the pages of Paleotto. 

Of the new clause, which gave so early a rise to alarm 
and debate, not soon to subside, it is strictly impossible that 
the legates should not have known and felt the importance, 
In the early part of this history it has been seen, that the right 
of originating every discussion in the council was constantly 
assumed and rigidly exercised, and expressly valued by 
them, as being that rod in their hands, which would enable, if 
not to govern, which was perhaps hopeless, yet to control, 
the entire proceedings of a body which, without that bridle 
in its mouth, might have gone far to neutralize or overset 
the holy Roman Catholic Church. It was likewise of in- 
creased advantage to get this power, if it could be done, 
recognized formally in the very first public act of the newly- 
opened council. It was rather worse than idle, therefore, 
to represent the claim as a matter of light or even inferior 
importance. Those who knew best knew better. 



Session XVIII. 

PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 
Index of Books — Safe Conduct. 

Soon after the close of the last session a general congregation 
was held, in which the Cardinal of Mantua congratulated 
the fathers on what had passed, and proposed to proceed 
gradually from minor to more important matters, imitating 
the silent progress of nature to greater perfection. Then 
turning to the secretary, he desired him to read what was in 
his hands, namely, a breve of his holiness. 

This, in the first place, referred to the objects expressed 
in the bull for opening the synod, but omitting all allusion 
to the contested clause. It then proposed, as most im- 
portant to the restoration of the purity of the faith, that the 
books written since the rise of the late heresies, and the 

n 2 



180 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



censures passed upon them, should be examined, in order 
that a determination of the council upon the subject might 
be published. The persons concerned were to be cited, 
that it might not be said that they were condemned unheard. 
The offenders were to be invited and encouraged to return 
to the church, and acknowledge her authority. The fathers 
were to prepare themselves to give their sentiments on this 
subject in the next congregation *. 

A subject was here introduced, interesting not only to 
sound theological doctrine, but to literature in general; and, 
as illustrative of the rule by w T hich Rome allows herself to 
act with respect to the productions of the mind, and of 
the means by which alone she can hope to support her doc- 
trine or dominion, it is a subject which the philosopher, as 
well as the Christian, will contemplate with deep feeling 
and some profit. 

It will be understood, that this engine of literary despot- 
ism was not of temporary existence, but almost immediately 
ramified itself extensively, and has continued its being down 
to the present time, in those catalogues which proscribe and 
expurgate whatsoever, in the republic of letters, offends or 
exposes the papacy. 

A general congregation took place on the 30th of January. 
The principal legate opened it with an elegant recommenda- 
tion of charity and forbearance, which he represented as the 
perfection of prudence. The papal breve was then read, and 
business began. Our author observes, that the discussion 
was so extended, that it was impracticable to report all the 
speeches on the occasion. 

After the cardinal Madruccio, who spake shortly, the pa- 
triarch of Jerusalem observed, rather wide of the point, 
unless he meant to do so, the importance of possessing books 
which were uncorruptedf , and thought that the proposed 
censure should be referred to a deputation for that purpose. 
The patriarch of Aquileia would have the Index published 

* This document is found in Le Plat's fifth volume, pp. 17. 18. 
f sinceri sint atque incorrupti. 



1562.] 



SESSION XVII 



181 



in the time of Paul IV, corrected ; and wished that those 
who in their youth had composed voluptuous pieces*, should 
not be put upon a level with the authors of impious heresies. 
The bishop of Braga was of opinion, that the work should 
be put into the hands of the universities. The bishop of 
Ariano observed, that, difficult as the work would be, there 
was no reason to despair of accomplishing it; that those 
who had been employed in the same undertaking under 
Paul IV should be applied to ; that an account of their pro- 
gress should be conveyed to his holiness, and he requested 
to afford any assistance from information derived from the 
censors under his predecessor, in order that the public faith 
might be pledged to the heretics with more security; but 
caution was to be used, lest the heretics should be offended 
by being so called, when, on the contrary, they should be 
kindly exhorted at first, and punished only on proving refrac- 
tory. The bishop of Badajoz did not understand why the 
synod would not supply the fittest operators ; and proposed, 
that the Index should be reduced to five classes: 1. of the 
books of heretics, and these were to be burned ; 2. of books 
of uncertain authors, which, if blameless, were to be allowed; 
3. of those in which there is a mixture of error ; and these 
should be purified ; 4. of vernacular versions of the gospels 
and the common prayers, which, if executed faithfully, 
should be permitted ; if not, interdicted ; 5. of books of sor- 
tilege, necromancy, and the like ; and these should be con- 
demned. The bishop of Modena, who, in a verbose but not 
luminous speech, magnified the difficulty of the task, would 
have aprocryphal books, such as the gospel of Nicodemus, 
exempted from condemnation, and advised to obtain the as- 
sistance of those who were employed under Paul IV in the 
same labour; concluding with very charitable feelings to- 
wards the heretics, who, if they could but be brought into 
contact with the orthodoxy of the council, could not fail to be 
convinced of the supreme doctrinal purity of the church which 

* Was the Venetian thinking of John della Casa, archbishop of Bene- 
vento ? 



182 



COUNCIL OF TRENT, 



they had forsaken. The bishop of Campagna followed, and 
was not deterred by the alleged difficulty of the undertaking. 
His statements possess but little merit : respecting the cita- 
tion of the condemned, he would have the name heretic 
dropped, and admit them to the synod, not to take part in 
the public disputations, but to be conferred with privately 
and lovingly. The bishop of Cremona would refer the busi- 
ness to a number of the fathers. He was followed in the 
same opinion by an abbat, who recommended that the here- 
tics should be invited, not as to a tribunal, but as to a wed- 
ding feast ; that they should not only be received to peni- 
tence, but exhorted, urged, compelled, and be overwhelmed 
with maternal pity and paternal affection. The speech of 
the general of the Augustinians is interesting, from the his- 
torical information conveyed by him, that he was one of the 
persons concerned in drawing up the Index of Paul IV : he 
proceeds to say, that the books of the heretics were brought 
out of the Vatican library, and dispersed among the various 
religious orders ; that they were all accurately examined ; 
that the indexes of other countries were inspected ; and that 
at last their own was with great diligence completed. The 
labours, therefore, of the present synod, in this department, 
would be rendered lighter in consequence of those which had 
preceded, and which, he yet admitted, were in several points 
capable of correction. 

Having represented the preceding speeches separately, our 
author classifies the remainder. 

There were some who thought that the synod ought not 
to burthen itself with so gigantic an undertaking, in which it 
was acknowledged, that the learned men who laboured in 
producing the former Index had failed ; and that the emen- 
dation of the same should be committed to the judgment 
of his holiness, or to universities, schools, or monasteries. 
Others, on the contrary, contended, that this was the proper 
business of councils ; that some of the fathers should be ap- 
pointed to undertake the affair, availing themselves particu- 
larly of the labours of their predecessors, examining foreign 



1562.] 



SESSION XVIII. 



183 



indexes; to submit the whole finally to the holy synod. 
Among the speakers on this side was a general of the 
Dominicans, a man of great judgment, who protested against 
the religious being employed, since that circumstance had 
rendered the former Index the more odious, and, if repeated, 
would create them fresh ill will. The bishop of Paphos, 
however, made himself conspicuous by the line of argument 
which he adopted. With the authority of age, he admo- 
nished the fathers to take care how they proceeded in an 
affair of such importance, and weigh the matter well before 
they superseded and virtually condemned, by their new 
Index, that which had been constructed with so much pains 
and ability under the preceding pontificate ; lest, by their 
example, they should encourage and justify posterity in 
treating their authority with as little respect as they had 
shewn towards that of their predecessors*. 

On the question of citing and hearing the persons whose 
works were condemned, although some thought it necessary, 
there were others of a contrary opinion, because it was not 
the person, but the work, which was condemned. 

Respecting the safe conduct to be granted to the heretics, 
there were some who would attach to it the condition, that 
they should come to the council for the purpose of acknow- 
ledging their errors. The greater part, more indulgent, were 
disposed to extend to them the most ample security, if they 
would sincerely unite with the council — that is, finally submit. 

In the mean time, three ambassadors from the emperor 
arrived, as expected. There was some debate as to the form 
of receiving them; and general regulations were agreed 
upon, applicable to all such cases as would necessarily 
occur. Our author dwells upon them at length. The main 
point, as respects these ambassadors, was their commission. 
They were furnished with certain articles, which, in the em- 

* If this good father had read the strictures of P. P. Vergerio upon this 
Index, in the republication of it with annotations by the reputed apostate, 
he would probably have been, at least he would have had reason to be, more 
measured in his praises. 



184 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562 



peror's name, they presented to the council on the 13th of 
February. The articles, which we find in Le Plat*, (Pale- 
otto refers to his other volume for them,) state, that the Pro- 
testants were disposed to seek subterfuges, in order that they 
might not attend the council; it was, therefore, desirable 
that the term, continuation, as applied to the council, should 
for the present be avoided * otherwise, the cause of their re- 
fusal would be thrown upon the pontifical bishops and the 
imperial ambassadors. In order to give more time for neces- 
sary preparations, it was recommended to prorogue the next 
session. With respect to the Index of prohibited Books, 
which was being meditated, it was thought advisable by the 
ambassadors, that the Confession of Augsburg should not 
be condemned at first\, as tragical consequences, which are 
deprecated, might ensue. The heretics were to be won by 
gentle treatment. It appeared necessary, likewise, that the 
most ample security, and such as they desired, should be 
granted them. The ambassadors conclude by suggesting, 
that the decrees under discussion should not be allowed to 
get abroad until they were approved and sanctioned by the 
session. 

The answer of the legates to these articles was in the form 
of assent to all, and was delivered on the 18th. The wily 
and instructed authors ' seize the expression respecting the 
non-condemnation of the Augustine confession at first, which 
they repeat, in order to nail; and in mentioning the safe 
conduct, although they do not avoid the expression most 
ample, they artfully exchange that of ( such as they desired,' 
into that of ' as was formerly sought by and conceded to 
them%: 

In the mean time the legates were not inattentive to the 
business immediately before them ; and that of fixing upon 

* Monument, v. 33, 34. His authority for this and the answer is 
Raynaldus. 

1" ab initio. 

X quemadmodum alias a protestautibus petitus et illis concessus 

fuit. Le Plat v. 35. 



1562.] 



SESSION XV1I1. 



185 



a select number of the fathers for composing the intended 
Index, having at a congregation been referred to the prin- 
cipal legate, he appointed four for that undertaking, and 
they elected to act with them as many more as would make 
the whole number amount to eighteen. A list of them is 
subjoined ; and it agrees accurately with that which w r e find 
in the three according editions of Antwerp, Louvain, and 
Cologne, in 1564 *. It is remarkable that even before the 
formation of the Tridentine rules of the Index, the individuals 
thus employed were obliged to be furnished by the pope w 7 ith 
a faculty to read prohibited books f. 



* It is as follows : — 

Archieps , . . . Pragensis Orator Caesareae, M iis - 

Patriarca . . . Venetiarum 

Archieps .... Naxiensis Ragusinus. 

Surrentinus Braca> 's. 

Epus Cavensis junior . . . « . Arianensis. 

Mutinensis Senogaliensis. 

Ovetensis Ilerdensis. 

Brixiensis Cremonensis. 

Veronensis 



Abbas Eutitius Cassinehsis . . . 

Gnalis Minorum de Observantia . 

Heremitarura S. Augustini . 

The list is likewise to be found in Servantio's Diary. Le Plat has it with 
no substantial variation. 

t This faculty or license is transcribed at length in the same Diary at the 
end. It is carefully confined to the period during which tbe council might 
be sitting. But as the document has some interest, and I do not remember 
another papal license to the same effect, the reader will probably not be 
displeased to see it entire. 

•' Breve super licentia legendi libros prohibitos, dati 25 Martii, 1560. 

' Dilectis filiis nostris Salutem, &c. Singularis et eximia vestrae circumspec- 
tionis integritas, fides, providentia, et erga Catholicam religionem devotio 
inducunt ut illam curam authoritati vestrae cum fiducia committamus, quae 
ad graves et falsas haereticorum opiniones repellendas atque impugnandas 
conducere existimamus. Hinc est quod, cum nos superioribus diebus vos 
vestros et Apostolicse sedis de latere Legatos ad praesidendum Concilio Tri- 
dentino quod celebrandum decrevimUs, nostro et ejusdem sedis nomine per 
nostras sub plumbo confectas literas constituerimus et deputaverimus, con- 
siderantes utile et opportunum fore ad sanctam et orthodoxam fidem tuen- 
dam .... haereticorum libros legere ; ac Praelatis, et aliis personis, presertim 
theologis, et in sacris libris versatis, de quibus vobis videatur in dicto con= 



186 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



When the fathers, to whom the office was intrusted of 
forming the decree, presented one to the legates, the latter, 
calling a meeting, first of all admonished them, agreeably 
to the suggestion of the imperial ambassadors, to be careful 
not to communicate it out of the council, as the exposure of 
such a document, in an unfinished and unmatured state, 
might give rise to various inconveniences. In order that 
this intimation might take more hold on the memories of 
the fathers, the secretary was ordered, when he read the 
decree, to subjoin it. 

The decree purports, that, as at this time bad books had 
increased, and were increasing without end, it was expedient, 
for the preservation and restoration of the purity of the Ca- 
tholic faith, that the tares should be separated and bound in 
bundles ; that this had been done by censures in many places 
and provinces, and particularly in Rome, but without suffi- 
cient effect ; that therefore it was decreed, that chosen per- 
sons should examine the books and censures already ex- 
tant, and refer the result to the holy synod ; that assistance 
in the work would be gratefully accepted ; and that it was 

cilio existentibus eosdem libros legendi facultatem concedere, motu proprio 
et ex certa nostra scientia vobis et vestrorum cuilibet, ut, durante dicti 
Concilii celebratione, quascunque hsereticorum opiniones impugnandas et 
reprobandas, tenere, habere, et legere valeatis, necnon quibusvis Praglatis 
caeterisque personis in sacra theologia Magistris, seu Doctoribus, vel gra- 
duatis, et alias eruditis in eodem Concilio pro tempore residentibus, quorum 
pietas, et erga sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam studium nobis probabitur, illos 
pariter tenendi babendi ac legendi licentiam concedere libere, et licite, 
absque conscientiae scrupulo, aut illius Censurae ecclesiastical incursu, possitis 
et valeatis, ipsique quibus licentia bujusmodi per vos aut vestrum quemlibet 
concessa fuerit, libros eosdem similiter tenere, habere, legere possint, et 
valeant auctoritate Apostolica tenore prsesentium facultatem impartimur 
et potestatem, non obstantibus Constitutionibus et Ordinationibus Ap cis - et 
quibusvis prohibitionibus, etiam per nos, et alios Romanos Pontifices Prea- 
decessores nostros, et praesertim per fel. rec. Paulum Papam 4 turn super 
hereticae pravitatis Inquisitores in contrarium quomodolibet factis et pro- 
mulgatis, quibus omnibus illarum tenores praesentibus pro sufficienter ex- 
pressis babentes illis alias in suo robore permansuris hac vice duntaxat 
specialiter et expresse derogatis, caeterisque contrariis quibuscumque. Da- 
tum Romae apud Sanctum Petrum sub annulo Piscatoris, die 20 Martii, 
1561. Pontificatus nri anno 2°. Caesar Glories. I am not answerable for 
more than accuracy of transcription. 



1562.] 



SESSION XVIII. 



187 



the earnest wish and entreaty of the council that those who 
separated from its communion would return. These trans- 
actions took place on the 17th, when, with announcing the 
20th for the next meeting, and giving the fathers some good 
advice respecting diligence and the avoidance of prolixity 
and wandering in their speeches, the legate dismissed them. 

They met, according to the announcement, on the 20th. 
The legates were in dread of the prolixity just noticed, and 
hit upon the expedient of limiting the discussion to one day, 
however late the meeting might be protracted, which per- 
fectly succeeded, for many, supposing they should have no 
opportunity for speaking, had not prepared themselves; 
others delivered to the secretary written statements of their 
opinions; and others contented themselves with a simple 
placet. The speaking, however, was kept up to a late hour. 
Of the three principal speeches the auditor has given some 
account. 

The first speaker was Cardinal Madruccio, who, pro- 
fessing to give his opinion freely, objected to some of the 
clauses in the proposed decree. He thought that the hope 
of moderation to the persons condemned should be ex- 
pressed more distinctly ; that for the designation c bad 
books,' should be substituted ' suspected ones,' as the first 
epithet had something in it tending to prejudice; that the 
expression, ' who hold not communion with us,' was not 
sufficiently precise ; and that the public faith should not be 
confined to those who should attend the council for the pur- 
pose of conversion, but should extend to those who came 
only that they might be heard. 

The archbishop of Granada w T as more censorious. He 
was of opinion, that the council, with so much on their 
hands, should not add the fresh load of so difficult an under- 
taking as that of correcting the old Index. He again put 
the patience of the legates to a trial by expressing his dis- 
appointment, that in the title of the decree w r as not added 
the representing clause, which, he said, did not derogate 
from the authority of the pope. That the words were not 



188 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



used in other councils, he affirmed, was partly untrue and 
partly frivolous ; and he concluded by saying, that, in the 
present time, the council ought to maintain its entire au- 
thority. 

The archbishop of Rossano commenced by formally beg- 
ging leave to dissent, a request which, of course, the legates 
could not refuse ; and then he proceeded to prove, that the 
words ' representing the universal church/ were useless and 
inflated. Neither was he moved by the examples of the adop- 
tion of them, which had been adduced in the councils of Con- 
stance and Basil : since, as to the first, the title was necessary, 
while there was no acknowledged pontiff and the schism still 
prevailed ; and, as to the second, to which he would hardly 
allow the character of a council, when a pretence for schism, 
which afterwards followed, was sought, what wonder that the 
title should be seized? But when the church had an 
undoubted pontiff, and one of its own choice, why should it 
leave antient models and flee to new * ? He closed his speech 
deprecating the passion for novelty. 

The remaining speeches are thrown under different heads; 
and under that of the safe conduct, since the case of Huss 
would naturally be adverted to, it was thought that greater 
openness might be advantageously adopted, that those 
who dissented from the Roman doctrine should be kindly 
invited, and if they came, detesting their errors, submitting 
themselves to the council, and shewing signs of penitence, 
pardon of all their offences should be offered. These w r ere 
to find in Trent a fountain of absolution, the others a school 
of salutary doctrine. With respect to the censure of books, 
it was judged best, that books being in their proper nature 
rather persuasives to truth, that subject should follow, not 
precede, the invitation of the heretics, so that when they came 

* But the popes, ever since Martin V., owed their entire legitimacy to 
Constance ; and which was the aggressor of the two hostile councils of Basil 
and Ferrara ? To which does the guilt of schism with the greatest justice 
belong I 



1562.] 



SESSION XVIII. 



189 



they might be more firmly detained *. As to some of the 
expressions of the decree, the opinion of Madruccio seemed 
to be generally approved; although this was done so instan- 
taneously, that it appeared to some to be the effect not of 
assent, but of compliment -j\ 

One made it an argument for the representing clause, that 
the heretics asserted the church to be invisible J. Others 
would have the Protestants invited by name, as Calvin, 
Brentius, Theodore Beza. It was suggested that the death 
of the Grand Turk afforded an opportunity for thinking of a 
war against the Turks. An abbat thought that if bad 
books were increasing without end, either a remedy should 
be proposed, or no mention be made of them. 

As the speech of the archbishop of Rossano made the 
greatest impression on the meeting, he was subsequently 
charged, with the assistance of the auditor of the Rota, to 
construct a new, or alter the original, decree. The new form 
was made, and is referred to in the volume which now guides 
us. I do not find it even in Le Plat : but it is of minor con- 
sequence, because it will appear in its final form at the 
session. 

The reader must be prepared for what follows by recol- 
lecting the decisive measures of Philip II., in his own king- 
dom, in 1559, and after, for the extinction of evangelic light. 
The Inquisition and Autos de fe must not be forgotten. 

Paleotto, then, is our authority, that although the Spanish 
prelates had given their assent to the impunity pledged to 
heretics, yet upon consideration they began to be grievously 
concerned, lest the public faith should embrace those against 
whom the Inquisitors, in their own country, had commenced 
proceedings. Should this be the case, they told the legates, 

* Quae sequuntum de libris emendandis ea sunt potius instrumenta 
quaedam, quibus ipsos ad veritatem persuadeamus, et postquam nobiscum 
fuerint conjuncti, firmius etiam detineamus. 

f Non tam assentiendi quam assentandi causa, says our author, with 
some verbal play. 

+ — Which it could not be if it were as visible as the Council of Trent. 



190 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



nothing more formidable could happen to their king, who 
had hitherto, by means of this sacred tribunal, kept the 
whole kingdom in their duty, and in the Catholic faith. 
There were even then in the council four persons who had 
borne the office of Inquisitors for several years ; and they 
affirmed, that the Catholic religion would come into great 
jeopardy, if this door should be opened, by which any one 
might, with so much ease, evade that holiest tribunal. This 
representation greatly perplexed the legates, not only on 
account of the Spanish, but likewise the Roman Inquisition, 
which the Holiest had charged them to attend to. They 
therefore laboured with the advice of others, to contrive, that 
those who had processes commenced against them, parti- 
cularly in the Spanish dominions, should not be included in 
the public faith. It was a subject of long study, there- 
fore^ that some certain form of security should be con- 
structed, which, while it saved the dignity of the synod, 
should create no injury to the sacred inquisition of that 
kingdom *. 

I cannot refrain from observing here,, that although Pal- 
lavicino is, in this part of the history, professedly following 
the Acta of Paleotto, yet for this information respecting the 
dilemma occasioned by the case of the Spanish Inquisition 
in particular, notwithstanding he does not communicate so 
much fact as is found in the latter historian, he has loaded 
his margin with other references ; as if he would astonish 
and confound the reader by the display of his Vatican and 
exclusive intelligence, and bid him stand by as less learned 
than himself. In this system of bush-fighting he might 
have succeeded, had not his infidelity and incompetence been 
betrayed on numberless occasions by evidence within ordi- 
nary reach. It is enough that the authority of the advocate 

* Diu laboratum est, ut certa aliqua securitatis forma constitueretur, 
quae, salva synodi dignitate, nullum sacrse regnorum illorum Inquisition! 
praejudicium afferre posset. Such are the perplexities of knavery and 
injustice ! 



1562.f 



SESSION XVI 



191 



of such a synod as that of Trent is despised even by those of 
his own communion *. 

At length, as the session was rapidly approaching (this 
being the 24th, as I infer from the date in the Diary), it was 
judged best, in consequence of the difficulty which had just 
arisen, simply, in the decree to be promulgated, to invite 
everyone with the utmost benignity, and to defer the safe 
conduct to a general congregation after the session, when it 
could be more maturely considered. For this reason the 
new form of the decree was superseded by another, which 
was read with almost unanimous approbation, says the 
author, although some dissented. The archbishop of 
Granada, with warmth, renewed his argument for the 
representing clause, defending it from St. Augustine and the 
Constantinopolitan council, where it was said, f Speak, Lord, 
for the whole world is here :' the title, therefore, was not 
inflated. Another would have excepted from the benefit of 
the safe conduct, those against whom inquisitorial actions 
had commenced. Others proposed such qualifications as 
they deemed expedient. 

On the next day, (the 25th as it is noted in the Diary,) 
the legate proposed, that the time for the appearance of the 
Protestants should be extended to the 14th of May, in orderf 
that they might be without excuse if they declined coming 
( — and without a safe conduct !) There were various opi- 
nions on this subject savouring of the different degrees of 
bigotry in the speakers. Several expressed a concern for 
how the council was to be employed in the interval ; but 
Mantua satisfied them that it would be well. 

And now the day of the session was arrived (the 26th of 
February). The ceremonies were as usual; but the time of 
the session was occupied for near two hours by a contest as 
to precedence between the Portuguese and Hungarian 
ambassadors. The author of the Acts gives it in all its 
detail, and is thoroughly disgusted with its inanity. He, 



* 1st. xv. 18, end. 



192 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



with others, was set to pacify the parties, in which they finally 
succeeded; and all gave great thanks. Then were read — 
the letters of the pontiff, respecting the examination of the 
Index of prohibited books ; those respecting the stations 
granted with indulgences to the city ; those about pre- 
cedence ; and those confirming the declaration of the legates, 
upon the same. 

The two decrees were then promulgated. 

The first was, of the choice of books, and inviting all 
upon the public faith to the council. 

There is little alteration in the substance of this decree 
from its first draught. The epithets applied to the con- 
demned books, instead of ' bad,' are '. suspected and perni- 
' clous' The council invites, and will embrace, all who 
come with kindly offices. It likewise, and finally, announces, 
that a safe conduct may be granted in a general congrega- 
tion, and that it shall have the same force, and strength, and 
moment, as if it were given and decreed in a public ses- 
sion. — Why all this tautologous affirmance ? 

All approved, except — the archbishop of Granada, who 
stood for the exception which he regularly made — the bishop 
of Messana, who would have the Index deferred until the 
condemned were heard for themselves— and two others, who 
made objections. 

The Second Decree simply appointed the next session for 
the 14th of May. 

The assent of the fathers was a good deal qualified. Some 
wished for an assurance, that the intermediate time would be 
profitably occupied. Many pleaded for something to be 
done in the way of reformation. The bishop of St. Agatha 
did not satisfy himself with a verbal answer, but delivered a 
written one, which, however, was no more than a disappro- 
bation of the distance of the next session, and a recommenda- 
tion of prompt and decisive measures with the heretics ; for 
the deadly contagion with which heresy had infected Europe 
was not to be healed by the medicine of time, but by oppor- 
tune and speedy remedies; 



1562.] 



SESSION XVIII. 



193 



The names of those who attended this session do not 
appear any where,, but the number and rank were respectable. 

The reader, as he has observed, will likewise, it is hoped, 
excuse a more extended detail than might be otherwise 
advisable in relating the particulars belonging to this session, 
both on account of the real and intrinsic importance of the 
subject, and the interest which the author naturally feels in 
it, from the circumstance, that one portion of it has before, 
and with some intensity, engaged his attention. The second 
and third chapters of the Literary Policy of the Church of 
Rome exhibited, in an account of her Damnatory Indexes, 
may be referred to for information respecting both the Index 
of Paul IV. and the discussions of the Council of Trent rela- 
tive to the construction of a new Index. The council, it will 
be seen by the sequel, did nothing itself in this business ; 
but overcome, or overawed, by the difficulty, delicacy and 
responsibility of the undertaking, cast the whole burthen, or 
bestowed the whole honour, upon the pontiff, whom they 
authorized to carry their conceived and abortive plan into 
execution. So far the fathers of the council gave it, when it 
should come to a birth, their anticipatory sanction and 
adoption*. 

* Romanists, when the subject of the Indexes of their church is brought 
before them, whether previously ignorant, or professing to be so, are accus- 
tomed to say, that they have no force in this country. It would be better 
to say, they can have none. Surrounded, and vastly outnumbered as they 
are by a communion hostile to and condemning theirs, it is impracticable 
for their rulers to keep out of the hands of their flocks books of any descrip- 
tion and however condemned. Even in countries where the Roman religion 
is dominant, licences may be obtained for reading such books. It never has 
been affirmed, that by the papal law such reading was a malum in se. But it 
is affirmed, that were power to return to the papal body in this country, there 
can be no doubt that prohibitory restrictions on literature would be rein- 
stated in the force which they once had among us ; as is sufficiently evident 
from the " Memorial for the Reformation of England," by R[obert] P[arsons], 
admitted by the Romish historian, Dodd, to have been faithfully edited by 
Gee, of which the apparently cotemporary MS. in my possession is an addi- 
tional proof. It is affirmed, that the Rule of the Index respecting the Scrip- 
tures, sanctioned subsequently by repeated bulls and breves, is, at the present 
time, actually observed, particularly in Ireland, as far as possible or prudent. 
And it is affirmed, that, according to the testimony of Dr. O'Conor, and the 

O 



194 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



Session XIX. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Prorogation of Session. 

The first attention of the council, after the session, was 
turned to the safe conduct ; and it was their first concern 
therein to secure the sacred and threatened rights of the 
Spanish inquisition. Care, however, was to be used, that 
the holy office should not acquire greater odium in the world, 
and that no expression should be adopted, which would com- 
promise the dignity of the synod. It was agreed by the 
fathers at the time, that precisely the same form should be 
used as in that proposed by the council under Julius III., in 
1552; and which, it is added, was what the Germans de- 
sired. This is a remarkable instance, in which the partial 
enunciation of truth produces the effect of real and important 
falsehood. The protestants desired this : but they desired 
something more, something reasonable and important, and 
something which was never granted, nor ever to be granted. 

There was, however, far from an unanimity of sentiment 
among the fathers on this subject. Some thought, that a 
certain time should be specified, beyond which the council 
should not be bound by its engagement ; that it should ex- 
tend only to a defined number; and that the protestants 
should in their passage be restrained from public and popular 
addresses. One recommended caution as to the concessions 
to these vipers and foxes*. Another did not conceive, that 
the number of these visitors would be otherwise than 
moderate ; and he objected against the adoption of the form 
used in the preceding part of the council, as implying the 
contested point of continuation. A Venetian nobleman 

Vindicator of Meagher's Popish Mass, sincere and conscientious members of 
the church of Rome in Ireland, even in modern days, do, (and such could not 
do otherwise,) stand in awe of the prohibitions of the Index — the deliberate 
voice of their supreme oracle on earth. See Preface to Literary Policy, &c, 
and Life of Pius V., pp. 37, 38, and the Supplement referring to the same 
place. 

* vipers vulpesque. 



15G2.] 



SESSION xrx. 



195 



seized upon the words, which were those of one of the impe- 
rial ambassadors, relative to restraining the number; as if 
there were an apprehension, that the heretics would come in 
herds*, and possibly produce disturbance in the council. 
When the speaker was considered, such a declaration was 
calculated to raise suspicions. The archbishop of Prague 
rose and said, that his expressions were strained to a 
meaning which he did not intend ; since he only desired the 
example of the council of Basil to be followed in this respect. 
The meeting' ended with the direction of the cardinal of 
Mantua, that a copy of the safe conduct should be furnished 
to all who wished for one. 

At a congregation on the 4th of March the subject was 
again proposed, and all subscribed to the form, as identical 
with what was before prepared, since any variation would 
excite suspicion. The only difference was, the short addition 
at the end, of the extension of the safe conduct to other na- 
tions besides the Germanf . To a doubt, whether the forms 
were the same, the legates answered, that the first was 
printed; which did not quite satisfy, as it wanted attestation. 
The bishop of Braga apprehended, that the impunity pro- 
mised might be interpreted to include offences, both com- 
mitted and to be committed. He was answered, that matters 
of faith only were intended. The archbishop of Prague 
said, that he was almost afraid to speak, lest his words should 
be obliquely interpreted as those of an ambassador. The 
bishop of Justinopolis took fire at this supposed reflexion, and 
protested, that he never wished to exclude the protestants, 
but that there were other persons entitled to the compassion 
of the council; and repeated, that it would be prudent to 
provide, lest when it laboured to cure the heretics, they, by 
disseminating their own poison, should not corrupt and 
destroy the whole catholic flock. The president answered, 

* gregatim. 

f Sarpi specifies another addition respecting individuals, which was with- 
drawn, for it does not appear any where, not even in the copy extant in the 
MS. Diary. 1st. vi., x. 



196 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



that they would not be allowed to preach in the streets. 
Another bishop would have the form so altered as to com- 
prehend the heresiarchs. All the fathers agreed simply, and 
the meeting broke up. Letters of the Duke of Bavaria 
presented by a councillor of his were answered. 

The decree of the public faith being completed, the le- 
gates, with great promptitude and diligence, caused it to be 
published in various cities and provinces. It was affixed to 
the doors of the cathedral, and immediately printed, that 
it might be known as rapidly and extensively as possible. 
Copies were sent to the pope, to the different nuncios, and 
particularly to the legate in France, with double letters, one 
public, the other private, in the last of which was expressed 
the earnest desire of the synod, that those who were cor- 
rupted with perverse opinions might come thither, and by 
the clemency of God, and conference with good men be 
brought to repentance. 

The legates, after this matter was settled, prepared them- 
selves to encounter the important head of Reformation. 
Seripando gave commencement to the affair, and with ad- 
vice he selected five prelates, who drew up a list of matters 
requiring reform. This he communicated to his colleagues. 
It was signed by nineteen capital letters, intimating, as our 
author who transcribes them supposed, the number of per- 
sons who concurred in the formula. Simonetta, however, for 
his knowledge of pontifical law, was fixed upon for the prac- 
tical part of the business. He began cautiously, and wished 
to be supported by the sanction of a full congregation : in 
the mean time, however, he thought it expedient to consult 
his holiness. Accordingly, some lighter matters were 
brought forward, which was not altogether approved. The 
affair, however, ended in the drawing up of twelve articles, 
which were expressed in the form of inquiry, for the purpose 
of providing a wider field of discussion to the fathers. 
The 1st was respecting the residence of prelates and others : 
the 3d suggested, that nothing should be received for 
conferring orders: the 7th, admitting that many rectors, 



1582.] 



SESSION XIX. 



197 



for their ignorance and turpitude of life, destroyed, ra- 
ther than edified their flock, and sometimes appointed 
substitutes who were worse, inquires for a remedy : the 10th 
proposes, whether clandestine marriages should in future be 
declared null and void : the last submits it to deep consider- 
ation of the fathers, what should be done about the no small 
abuses of the quaestors. 

The legates, after mature consideration, thought that the 
first head of residence was too broadly expressed, and that 
it would be better altogether to postpone it, until the meet- 
ing of a congregation. 

On the 11th of March therefore, when a congregation was 
called, before it met, the legates signified to the imperial am- 
bassadors, that it was their opinion the subject should be 
withdrawn until a more convenient time. The ambassadors 
said, that in that case they thought the emperor would 
consider himself as trifled with, and would form a bad 
opinion of the whole synod. The legates therefore deter- 
mined to make no alteration; and the chief president made 
an elegant speech at the meeting to this effect. He ob- 
served, that the union and harmony of the parts of the 
human body constituted the beauty of the whole, and that 
when the separate portions were brought together in the 
structure of ecclesiastical hierarchy which they were about to 
erect, the edifice would appear in its true magnificence. 

After this, several congregations were assembled for the 
necessary purpose of publicly receiving the different am- 
bassadors of princes, at the head of whom was the Mar- 
quess of Pescara, the Spanish ambassador. The mandates, 
orations, and answers are regularly referred to ; and many 
of them are inserted in the Diary. They are probably all 
in Le Plat's collection. 

The excuses of the absent Prelates were then taken into 
consideration ; and it was thought by some, that these in- 
dividuals were too gently treated. 

We now return to the stirring subject of reformation, and 



198 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



to the point of it which then excited most agitation, Resi- 
dence. The contests among the fathers on this subject, the 
auditor professes his intention faithfully to detail, not only 
to show how vehemently and perilously the Christian world 
was disturbed by it, but likewise to make it apparent, how 
readily in the government of the church human counsels 
may fail, unless they are supported by the wisdom and be- 
nignity of God. 

The subject of residence was considered by many prelates 
to constitute the sum of the whole reformation ; since no- 
thing else would restrain the bishops from nocking to Rome 
and other large cities, and there enjoying their leisure, 
while the chief pontiff looked on and did nothing. They 
likewise believed, that the obligation to residence would be 
made more binding and effectual, if it were declared of 
divine right. The pontiff, too, would then be interested to 
see that so (sacred a duty were performed. These views 
were opposed by others, who thought that the privileges of 
the pope were invaded. 

These disputes were at first private, but in a short time 
they came to be the general subject of discussion. And 
hence it happened, that although his holiness had written 
to his legates to repress the matter, he finally expressed his 
acquiescence in its being deliberated : a change which is 
accounted for from his inability to resist the popular cur- 
rent. This was so strong that it became almost necessary 
for every individual to choose a side ; since those who did 
not, were accounted either stupid or arrogant. All the 
symptoms of violent party feeling began to be exhibited; 
and hence dissensions and quarrels kept increasing among 
the fathers, and the hostile ranks indulged themselves in 
mutual and bitter calumnies. The reporter expatiates in 
instances of this disgraceful conduct; and concludes, that this 
plague hesitated no where. Neither the legates, nor the 
prelates, nor any other individual of eminence escaped the 
contagion, so that the devil himself seems to have discharged 



1562.] 



SESSION XIX. 



199 



upon the council the venom of those calumnies from which 
he derives his name. Every one was eager to see what 
would be the event of this state of things*. 

When therefore the 7th of April arrived, the day ap- 
pointed for delivering their sentiments upon the subject, 
the fathers were so full and long, that, manv davs did not 
suffice for giving them a hearing. Paleotto reduces what 
was said to five heads. 

The first was, the inconvenience following non-residence, 
and the severity of the canons against it. Some wandered 
to the point of its divine right, and supported their opinion 
by various authority. The second set of speakers dwelt 
upon the impediments to residence ; and those impediments 
they formally reduced to the number of thirteen, specific- 
ally described. Among these the 6th is, the great sea of 
the religious \ ; the 8th, provisions ; the 9th, pluralities ; 
the last, the obligation to visit the thresholds of the apos- 
tles. The third class of speeches was on the punishments 
of non-residence, under twelve heads. The fourth was of re- 
wards for residence, under fifteen. The fifth was, that the 
prelates should be urged, compelled, bound to their duty ; 
and that this should be sanctioned by the chief pontiff. 
This opinion is thrown under thirteen heads. The utmost 
liberty of speaking was allowed, and thus the altercation was 
protracted to many days. Our author, who is an able and 
eloquent man, knowing that he had not exhausted his sub- 
ject, adds a specimen of two discourses on the opposite sides 
of the question, whether it is, or is not expedient, for retaining 
bishops in their churches, that residence should be declared 
of divine right J. We must not be detained by these; and 

* Verurn hgec raaledicentiae lues proraiscue fere cunctos, qui hue synodi 
causa convenerant est pervagata. N alius enim, aut legatorum. aut praela- 
torum — illius contagione, evasit ; ita ut videretur aliquando inter eos 
cacodaemon calumniarum suarum - - - [virus ?] unde nomen traxit, effudisse. 
Sed ha?c progressu temporis, &c. 

i mare magnum religiosorum. 

* See the substance of these discourses in Pallavicino, 1st. xvi, iv. The 
prudent apologist has taken care to give the information which he found in 



200 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



by whom they were drawn up is not expressed — most pro- 
bably by Paleotto himself. 

When the fathers gave their opinion on this exciting sub- 
ject, it might be foreseen, that it would be no easy task to 
give the result. A congregation, therefore, being held on 
the 20th of April, memorable, says the writer, for its con- 
sequences, it was announced formally by a direction given 
by the legates and read by the secretary, that the opinions 
should be given by a placet or non placet. The fathers, 
who had premeditated a good deal, were put into straits by 
this announcement, and suspected a trick; and the effect 
was, that there never was a more disturbed congregation *. 
Some answered without hesitation; but others were em- 
barrassed by the necessity of taking a decisive side : and the 
whole was a scene of confusion, which rendered it difficult 
even then to collect the votes. It was, however, accomplished, 
and seventy were reckoned in favour of the divine right, 
thirty-eight against it, and thirty-four for first consulting the 
pope. The lists are given. As the last two lists, united, 
exceeded in number the first, it was resolved to refer the 
question to his holiness. 

Eight prelates were then chosen to digest the other heads 
of reformation, omitting the first ; if any further notions sug- 
gested themselves to the fathers, they were to be referred to 
this body. For the rest, what had passed on the present, 
day was to be suppressed ; for the credit of all was concerned, 
that such controversies as had taken place among them 
should not be laid open to othersf. This, the first president 
intreated with much earnestness ; but to what profit ? for 
hardly was the assembly dismissed, but every place was full 

Paleotto, in a very imperfect and softened manner. He did not admire the 
ground he had to walk over. He would much rather have gone on detecting 
the lies of Soave in mistaken dates, and names, and such like things. But 
the reader may compare and judge for himself. I have aggravated no- 
thing, and shortened much. 

* ut adhuc nulla congregatio seque fuerit perturbata. 

f omnino comprimant ; commune enim omnium estimationem hie 

versari, ne tot inter eos controversiae aliis patefiant. 



1562.] 



SESSION XIX. 



201 



of these rumours, and innumerable letters were written to 
the city and other places for the most part false. It was 
really astonishing how afflicted almost all left the meeting ; 
and I, (says the auditor, whom I am here strictly following,) 
saw some even shedding tears over such contentions and 
disturbances in the synod. Hence some censured the legates 
for so inadvertently pressing the matter to a scrutiny. 
Others grieved, that those who referred the matter to the 
pope, gave a handle to the heretics of representing them as 
servants of the pope. Some lamented, that on this account 
his holiness would bear a blame which he was the farthest 
possible from deserving. 

This, proceeds our authors, was the foundation and seed- 
plot of the calumnies with which each party persecuted the 
opposite. Nor w 7 ere the legates themselves spared. To 
begin with him of Mantua, he was so calumniated, that he 
demanded an attestation of his innocence by a notary ; and 
Paleotto himself subscribed it. He dwells upon the instance 
at some length ; as likewise upon those of Seripando and 
Simonetta. The darts, if aimed at the candid Hosius, 
quickly recoiled. The general judgment respecting the 
legates was, that the cardinal of Mantua and Seripando 
were favourable to the declaration of episcopal residence, as 
of divine right ; while Simonetta resolutely opposed it. Hosius 
embraced the medium. But although the legates were so 
diverse in their opinions, it was the full persuasion of the 
most intelligent, that they sought equally the good of the 
church, and pursued the same end although by different 
means. We protestants will not contest the general justice 
of this sentiment; but we beg to share in its benefit. 

Proceeding to the prelates*, the historian writes, with what 
clandestine and calumnious speeches they attacked each 
other, like gladiators, what opprobrious letters defying all 

* De prelatis vero, quot inter se clandestinis raaledicisque vocibus sunt 
digladiati, quot probrose mutuo literal effractis verecundiae repagulis Romam 
sunt perlatae, iis ego satius abstinendum, quam obscaenam aliquorum loqua- 
eitatetn, qui viros sanctissimos petulanter convellere sunt oonati, detegen- 
dum duxi. 



202 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



modesty they sent to Rome, I have judged it better to 
conceal, than to disclose the obscene loquacity of some, who 
petulantly endeavoured to traduce the characters of the most 
holy men. He proceeds, however, to give a general outline 
of the sinister motives which each of the hostile parties im- 
puted to the other. The one party was accused of desiring 
to live in idleness and luxury ; the other of wishing to dimi- 
nish the authority of the apostolic see, that they might 
become chief pontiffs in their own dioceses. The Archbishop 
of Prague, who thought that both the pope and the council 
were disgraced by the scenes which he witnessed, observed, 
that the unjust accusation directed against the apostles 
seemed to be justly applicable to the actors, namely, that 
they were filled with new wine. This reflexion gave some 
offence. The other points of reformation were reserved for a 
future session. 

Without exulting in, but rather deploring, such exhibi- 
tions of human sin and frailty, we may yet be allowed to 
inquire, with what propriety or justice a communion, of 
whose members such things are recorded by one of the 
same communion, can cast a stone at the reputed heretics, 
whom, with some truth, but with more invention and ex- 
aggeration, they charge with a similar offence. We likewise 
observe, that the faithful description which we have just 
detailed, does not perfectly accord with the picture presented 
of the august and most holy synod by a Campian* or a 
Butler. And while we do cheerful justice to the fidelity, 
with which the pen of a devoted Romanist has delineated 

* Bone Deus, quae gentium varietas, qui delectus episcoporum totius 
orbis, qui Regum et Rerumpublicarum splendor, quse medulla theolo- 
gorum, quae sanctitas, quse lacrymae, quae jejunia, qui flores academici, quae 
linguae, quanta subtilitas, quantus labor, quam infinita lectio, quanta? vir- 
tutum etstudiorum divitiae, augustum illud sacrarium impleverunt ! Rationes 
Decern. Rat. iv. I have read, I cannot recollect where, that at the com- 
mencement of the council it was recommended, that all the disputation 
should take place at preparatory meetings, and nothing but unanimity ap- 
pear at the sessions, in order that the world might be edified, and ( the 
heretics confounded at the miraculous exhibition of catholic unity. Campian 
might think or mean to gull others, or he might be the gull himself. 



1562.] 



SKSSTON XIX. 



203 



the blemishes of characters which he venerated, we may learn 
how to put a difference between individuals of the same cor- 
rupt, faith, and not degrade a Paleotto by placing him in the 
same rank with a Milner, a Doyle, or a Lingard. The 
cause of the irritability and indecorous tumult in a body of 
such a description is indeed very plain. The subject of 
the residence of bishops among bishops was a touching one. 
Every individual had a conscience, one way or other, to be 
moved by it : some were, and knew that they were, guilty ; 
and others, in that respect, were, and knew that they were, 
clear. The latter predicament, however, did not exempt 
from jealousy or envy. These circumstances produced a 
fund of combustible and explosive matter. 

About this time there was a recommendation, that the 
holy synod should endeavour to induce the Christian princes 
to interpose their authority in favour of the bishops who 
were detained in prison in England ; but it was overruled by 
the suggestion, that it might subject them to greater seve- 
rity. And was it to be supposed, that a sovereign, in the 
case of those who certainly desired, if they did not plot, the 
destruction of the religion, and, if necessary , the destruction 
of the government of her kingdom, should quietly, and with- 
out using additional means of defence, suffer foreign sove- 
reigns at the command of her greatest enemy to interfere with 
what was considered the execution of justice in the country, 
and shake the national security to its foundations ? There 
was, and even yet is, something miraculous in the sober 
insolence of papal politics. But on this subject we shall hear 
again. 

The session was now approaching, and the Venetian am- 
bassadors were received. There arrived likewise the French 
ambassador, Monsieur de Lanssac, with two colleagues, du 
Ferrier and de Pibrac. It was desired, for their conve- 
nience, that the time of the meeting should be deferred ; 
and it was agreed to have another session a week after the 
regular one. 

In the mean time, it was thought necessary to draw up a 



204 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



decree in some degree suitable to the majesty of the synod. 
Paleotto was employed to perform the task, which he exe- 
cuted with considerable eloquence. But when it came to be 
discussed, there were so many exceptions, particularly as to 
the supposed implication of a continuation, that it was aban- 
doned; and he prepared the short one, which was adopted. 
The session after the next, it was agreed to extend to a 
greater distance, a week after; because, as our author 
frankly, and with a kind of apology for the levity of the indi- 
viduals, relates, there were some who considered the remain- 
ing days of the month of May as ominous. The 4th of June 
was therefore fixed upon. 

The session was duly celebrated on the 14th of May, and 
the decree read, which simply prorogued the session to the 
4th of June : this was approved. 



Session XX. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Prorogation of Session. 

As the space to the next session was short, the legates were 
intent upon expediting the business on hand. The congre- 
gation of Eight Fathers, for preparing the decrees of reform- 
ation, presented the result of their labours; and the first, 
head in it was upon residence. For, although the synod 
had declared that the subject should be deferred, the legates 
thought it better to bring it forward, in conformity with a 
schedule delivered by them containing the subjects upon 
which decrees were to be made. The schedule was to the 
following purpose. 

The decrees, when drawn out, were to be shewn only to 
the legates. 

That residence is of human, divine, and ecclesiastical right, 
is to be affirmed in the first instance ; and the words were to 
be so chosen, that it should not appear that this had ever 
been doubted in the church. 



1502.] 



SESSION XX. 



205 



Mention was to be made of the canon on the subject 
under Paul III ; and to the authority of scripture, there ad- 
duced, were to be added all the other authorities pronounced 
by the fathers. 

Bishops were to have a vacation of two months in the year. 

For the preservation of the authority of the apostolic see, 
the pope was to have the power of adding two months. 

The canon for visiting the thresholds of the apostles might 
be renewed, in order that bishops may acknowledge the 
Roman pontiff as their head, and consult with him upon 
ecclesiastical affairs. 

The legates called a select council, in which was the Au- 
ditor and Promoter, to consider of what the fathers had pre- 
pared on the preceding subjects. While they were thus 
sedulously employed, letters full of trepidation came from 
Rome, relating, that the whole court was vehemently dis- 
turbed by this disputation concerning residence, which was 
a violent invasion of the authority of the pontiff himself; that 
he had summoned his cardinals on the subject, in order that 
they might diligently provide, that the Christian republic 
should receive no damage* ; and that he had even deter- 
mined to send three fresh legates to Trentf . 

This intelligence was received with great alarm at the 
council. Legates, irreproachable and meritorious, would be 
disgraced ; the mouths of the malevolent would be opened to 
represent'the^new 7 legation as a contrivance to defeat the ap- 
plication of a remedy to the corrupt manners of the Roman 
court ; the friends of residence would be calumniated in the 
city, and the opponents be in high favour ; but last, and 
worst of all, the present chief legate must of course resign, 

* ne quid hinc Christiana respublica detrimenti capiat. 

f This is confirmed by a letter of Visconti to cardinal Borromeo of the 
6th of June, 1562. from Venice on his way to Trent. But he understood 
that the resolution was abandoned. As we shall have occasion, soon and 
largely, to refer to these letters, it will be recollected, without further 
description, that they are the MS. ones addressed to Cardinal Borromeo, 
and noticed in the proper place in the Preface. 



206 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



which might easily terminate in the dissolution of the 
council. 

In this perplexity the legates thought of endeavouring to 
evade the subject as smoothly as possible* at the next ses- 
sion. By means of some fathers of influence, they tried to 
persuade the advocates of residence benignantly to yield to 
a further delay. These mediators did not succeed, particu- 
larly with the Spaniards, who desired either an express pro- 
mise, that the matter should be considered in a future ses- 
sion, or a secret one to that purpose under the seal of the 
legates. To neither of these proposals would the legates 
consent ; but they would not refuse to bring on the subject 
under the sacrament of order. 

The decrees on the other points of inquiry were ordered 
to be published for the examination of the congregations ; 
and in deference both to the king of Spain and his holiness, 
words were to be prefixed manifestly importing the continu- 
ation of the council f . 

At this time the three French ambassadors made their 
appearance, and delivered an oration, to which an answer 
was not immediately given, for the following reason. Ac- 
cording to custom, a copy of the oration was previously sent 
to the secretary, to which an answer was prepared suitable 
to its contents. But it was found, that the oration actually 
delivered on the 26th of May, a general congregation, was 
very different from the former, and contained bitter and 
audacious expressions, not extant in the first copy. The 
answer, therefore, was deferred to the day of session. Of 
the oration a copy is suitably enough found in the Actes du 
Concile de Trente, pris sur les originaux, 1607J, and of the 
answer in Servantio's Diary. The oration, among other un- 

* quam levissirae. 

f manifeste concilii continuationem explicantia. 

+ Pp. 15, &c. This is represented as a very rare work by Vogt. My 
copy formerly belonged to de Thou. The answer is inserted in Servantio, 
with the account of the day, which is not in Paleotto. Le Plat has them 
both. 



1562.] 



SESSION XX. 



207 



welcome suggestions, dwelt upon the danger in which the fa- 
thers were, from the temptations of the devil, to pay too much 
respect to the will of princes ; it intimated rather significantly 
that the Holy Spirit only came from heaven ; and required, 
that the present council should be considered as a new one*. 
The speech, of course, gave great offence to some. 

A short time after, the ambassadors of the emperor pro- 
tested in his name, that if the present council were declared 
to be a continuation of the former, he would, recall them. 
The French, in a particular petition, united with the im- 
perialf . 

In the midst of so many difficulties, the legates, who had 
in a manner pledged themselves to Philip for the continua- 
tion, wrote to the pontiff and to the Spanish ambassador, 
then at Milan, that if this matter were pressed, there would 
be great danger of the council being dissolved ; and this 
would be a greater evil than the displeasure of the Spanish 
monarch. They came, therefore, to the conclusion, that the 
whole matter of reformation should be referred to a future 
session, which was satisfactory. Moreover, to the Spaniards 
they promised, that the doctrines should be begun, or rather 
prosecuted, from the point at which they were interrupted in 
the council under Julius III; so that, from the very series 
and context of the former council, a conjunction and connex- 
ion should be evident to allj. After such a representation 
as this by an able adherent of the papacy and the council, 
professedly recording the acts of the latter, how is it possible 

* Pallavicino, xvi, x, 12, ascribes to Lanssac the well-known, but rather 
profane taunt of the Holy Spirit being sent from Rome in a bag : chenon 
mandasse lo Spirito Santo nella valigia. There appears some reference to 
it in the oration, where it is observed, that the holy spirit only came from 
heaven. 

f Servantio, who is alive to such subjects, describes with much detail the 
procession on the 28th of May, being Corpus Christi, when the cardinal 
Seripando carried the most holy sacrament with superlative devotion 
through every part of the city, and then deposited it at the altar, pronounc- 
ing a benediction. 

£ ut ex rei ipsius serie ac contextu prioris concilii conjunctio atque 

complexio omnibus aperte pateat. 



208 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



to wonder that the protestants should distrust and avoid a 
religious assembly, or rather tribunal, the managers of which, 
by an artifice so dishonourable, sought to entrap them into a 
subjection to decrees made, not only without their cognizance 
and participation, but to their manifest injury and ruin ? In 
Germany and France there were protestants whom it was of 
importance to the sovereigns of both countries to keep in good 
will and allegiance. The savage barbarities of Spain had 
annihilated that class of subjects ; and with its king it was, 
of consequence, no object to conciliate a nullity. The ratifi- 
cation of all the heresy and intolerance of the former meet- 
ings of the council was all gain to Philip. Does not all this 
iniquitous and astute policy demonstrate, that the council of 
Trent was under the guidance of any other spirit than the 
Holy One ? The decree for prorogation was agreed upon. 

A little after came letters from his holiness, directing that 
the continuation of the council should be published. This 
was a new embarrassment to the legates. They determined, 
however, to adhere to their own course ; and intended to 
have sent one of the body to explain matters to the pope, 
and allay his anticipated wrath, but other letters came from 
his holiness, which referred the affair to their own discretion. 

The reason of this chancre in the infallible councils was 
supposed to be, the hope, by the first, of an easy dissolution 
of the council, and a reputable deliverance of the pontiff 
from all his difficulties. More prudent consideration, how- 
ever, produced altered views and measures. 

Having thus escaped, on the 3d of June, the day before 
the session, and in a general congregation, Seripando, in 
the absence of the first legate, exhorted the fathers to the 
study of concord and piety, and informed them that the 
business of the next session would be deferred to a future 
time. He likewise consulted them upon the answer to be 
given to the French ambassadors ; and they agreed upon 
one, in which their feelings were to be dissembled from re- 
gard to the times. The decree of prorogation was then read. 
The archbishop of Lanciano objected to the liberty claimed, 



1562] 



SESSION XX. 



209 



at the close of it, of extending or contracting the term, which 
he said did not suit the character of a judicial tribunal. 
All the rest subscribed, except thirty, who had particular 
views in favour of residence * and the continuation of the 
council. With these some Italians joined, in the hope, as 
it was believed, but our author will not affirm it, that their 
united votes would outnumber those of the imperial party, 
and produce ultimately the dissipation of the council. Some 
of the fathers complained that the difficulties in which the 
synod was placed were not made known to them earlier. 
Seripando, however, vindicated himself with spirit, and was 
confident, that if the conduct of the legates were understood, 
it would be found blameless. 

June the 4th, the day of the session, was observed in the 
same manner as usual. The Bishop of Salamanca performed 
the mass of the Holy Spirit : plenary indulgences by apostolic 
authority were then published, and Ragazzone, Bishop of 
Naziansum, and elect of Famagosto, delivered an excellent 
sermon. This we learn from the Diary, and he will dis- 
tinguish himself again. After some other ceremonies the 
ambassadors of France again pronounced their oration, and 
the answer followed. This commenced with a compliment 
to his most Christian majesty, then a boy ; but the most 
remarkable part is that which discovers the soreness of the 
legates at being reminded of their temptations, which they 
say was quite misplaced or superfluous ; but they were de- 
termined, notwithstanding their provocation, to answer in a 
manner not dissonant from their accustomed mansuetude, 
and wished his most Christian majesty to be assured, that 
the rule of their future conduct would be the interests of his 
royal authority, saving those of faith and religion. 

* Visconti, in a letter from Pesaro, May 30, 1562, mentions for the se- 
cond time a tract on Residence, as not of divine but pontificial right, drawn 
up by Salmeron from Caterino, bishop of Minori, and he here suggests that 
copies of it, to the number of a hundred, might be printed, and dispersed 
among the fathers : and if it was not expedient to do this in Rome, it might 
be done in Pesaro. 

P 



210 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



The Bishop of Salamanca then read the decree,, stating 
that existing difficulties having prevented it at the time, the 
joint subjects of doctrine and reformation would be deter- 
mined in the next session, which was appointed for the 16th 
of July next, with power to alter as might be deemed expe- 
dient for the council. 

Many of the fathers expressed their dissatisfaction. It 
almost exclusively turned upon the two points of residence 
and the continuation of the council. The persons present 
were, according to Servantio, who has given the number of 
each class, the four legates, the principal one being indis- 
posed, one other cardinal, five patriarchs, (Le Plat, from a 
MS. of Ficler, says 2), two archbishops (Le Plat 17), one 
hundred and twenty-eight bishops (Le Plat 138), two ab- 
bats, five ambassadors (Le Plat 4), four generals, and theo- 
logians, in all seventy-three. 



Session XXI. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 

Doctrine: Communion under both kinds: Infants — Reformation: Bishops,, 
Monasteries, Quaestors, &c. 

The session at this time in prospect and preparation, was 
the first of the third convocation of the council, in which 
any proper business of the council was accomplished. The 
subject, as proposed by the legates, was, the reception of the 
Eucharist, whether in one or both kinds, and the communion 
of infants. They promised thence to proceed without 
delay to the consideration of the sacrifice of the mass, 
not omitting, according to the laudable custom hitherto 
pursued, to unite reformation with doctrine. The articles 
proposed, in the first instance, to the theologians were, 
1, whether it were necessary to salvation to receive in both 
kinds ; 2, whether the custom of restricting to one kind 
laics and non-celebrating priests was so to be retained, that 
no exception should be made ; 3, whether the use of the cup 



1562.] 



SESSION XXI. 



21L 



should be allowed to any nation or kingdom, and on what 
conditions ; 4, whether less is received under one than under 
both kinds ; 5, whether the eucharist should be administered 
to those under age. It should be observed, that the number 
of these inquiries in Fra Paolo is six, and the one omitted 
is his second — whether the church had just reasons for giving 
the eucharist to the laity under one kind only ? With the 
proposal of these articles all were satisfied, except the arch- 
bishop of Granada, who observed, that the first was settled 
by the council of Constance, and that by omitting it room 
would be left for passing to the sacrifice of the mass, and 
the sacrament of order and residence. Upon the last he 
insisted as of high importance, which roused the feelings of 
the archbishop of Rossano, who entertained directly opposite 
views. The altercation, in which others joined, proceeded so 
far as to require the pacifying interference of the chief 
legate. 

At this time the archbishop of Lanciano was sent to Rome 
to acquaint his holiness with the state of things in the coun- 
cil, and particularly the pressing petitions respecting resi- 
dence, upon which, and the declaration of continuation, the 
legates were anxious to know his determination. 

On the 27th of June, with the Venetian ambassadors, 
appeared the Bavarian, whose oration contained grievous 
charges of the gross profligacy, particularly incontinence, of 
the priesthood in his master's dominions. The speaker 
declared, that they could not be uttered before chaste ears. 
The oration is extant in Le Plat's collection, as well as in 
others : and may therefore be consulted for this fact, which 
speaks volumes on the enforced celibacy of the Romish 
clergy. 

The theologians set to their work with assiduity, and had 
drawn up four canons with anathemas on three of the articles. 
On the remaining two, which concerned the conceding the 
cup, they were divided. The legates wished to defer this 
subject, upon the plea that it less concerned doctrine than 
economy, (meaning by that perhaps something of reforma- 

p2 



212 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562, 



tion ;) but the imperialists were resolute for the settlement 
of that point. The legates tried to satisfy them, but in vain ; 
nor were they satisfied without obtaining a promise, that the 
subject should be considered as soon as possible. It is doubted 
whether the legates subscribed the engagement. 

It is literally irksome to follow the particular argumenta- 
tion of the fathers on the whole of the present question, who 
with the intellect and acquirements of men wielded the logic 
of children ; and hardly anything is worthy of remark, except 
the incidental and occasional observations, such as that of the 
archbishop of Granada, who said, that he and his friends 
wished a certain canon against Luther to be omitted, because 
it wounded neither Luther nor any other heretic, and that 
they should only expose themselves to the world as fighting 
a shadow. It is as clear from scripture as a meridian sun 
can make any object, that in the Lord's supper the bread 
and wine are one sacrament ; and that the unprincipled 
tyranny and heterodoxy alone of such a church as that, of 
Rome can deny either to the participation of the body of the 
faithful. He who instituted the ordinance, joined at the 
time the two parts of it together ; and it is not any mortal 
or hierarchy on earth which can put them asunder. With 
what defect of outward ceremony in cases of necessity the 
grace of the ordinance may be compatible, is another question. 
The arbitrary human denial is the point here. And I may 
just observe, to spare myself the necessity in another place, 
that it is with some prudence that the cup has been selected 
for prohibition, since the words in which that portion of the 
sacred rite was instituted, are not only incompatible with, 
but completely destructive of, the unfounded and degrading 
figment of transubstantiation. The cup literally must be the 
new covenant literally, if that doctrine, or its necessary foun- 
dation, be not false. 

When the canons of the divines came to be discussed by 
the congregations, they were altered and thrown into a new 
form. In the progress towards this conclusion it was argued, 
that although the original custom was, to administer in both 



1562.] 



SESSION XXI. 



213 



kinds, yet the church, as in the case of baptism, had a right 
to make an alteration. It was likewise inferred from the 
participation by the apostles alone in the first institution^ 
that the successors of the apostles alone, the clergy, were 
entitled to the privilege. And if but one half was allowed 
to the laity, that was pronounced equal to the whole. 

Even when a greater advance was being made in settling 
the faith of the church on the point in hand, the fathers do 
not seem to have improved in unanimity. Some, says the 
historian, as to the words, abhorred a polished style, and 
preferred something approaching the majesty of antiquity. 
Others would have nothing but pure and elegant latinity. 
Some desired, that the epithet,' most august, should be affixed 
to the mention of this sacrament ; while others, whether in 
joke or in earnest our author is doubtful, objected, that this 
title was peculiar to Caesar : they, therefore, gave the pre- 
ference to one which belonged to a priest, as most holy. The 
Bishop of Veglia interceded for those under the Venetian 
government, and in the isle of Cyprus and other eastern 
countries to a great number, who, although in communion 
with Rome, used both kinds, that they should not be in- 
cluded under an anathema. It was answered, that those 
only who asserted the taking of both to be of divine right 
were intended ; but it was thought better to make the affair 
less ambiguous. The Bishop of Viviers started the objec- 
tion, which was afterwards followed up, against adducing 
the much disputed discourse in the sixth chapter of St. 
John's gospel, as explanatory of the eucharist. By argu- 
ments such as these, partly grave and partly trifling, was 
the whole doctrine agitated and shaken, until the fathers 
settled in the conclusion, that the statement should be ac- 
curately amended, and reduced to more contracted limits. 
This task was confided to the deputation of fathers pre- 
viously chosen for such purposes, with an addition to their 
number. 

The legates then proceeded to Reformation, and proposed 
to the adoption of the congregation certain decrees, which 



214 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



in the history before us are detailed at length. It is not 
necessary to repeat, or even to give an outline of them ; since 
they appear in the form ultimately adopted by the session, 
in the published canons and decrees. There are circum- 
stances, however, deserving attention. It is one, and the 
first, that in the very first introductory paragraph, the im- 
portant word, continue, as applied to the council, is intro- 
duced in the insidious way, which it will be recollected was 
proposed, and upon which some observations were made*. 
It is remarkable too, that in company with those to whom 
it was no secret, and before whom it would appear ridiculous 
to affect to treat it as such, no attempt is made to palliate 
or disguise the iniquities prevailing among the clergy, one 
division of these decrees beginning thus : f because illiterate 

• and unskilful rectors of parish churches, and possessors of 
' dignities in cathedrals and colleges, are unfit for the sacred 
e office, and some on account of the turpitude of their life 

* rather destroy than edify their flock,' the ordinaries may 
substitute proper persons. It will, however, be recollected, 
that they were prelates, who pronounced thus freely respect- 
ing the inferior clergy. The strong reprobation of the con- 
duct or abusesf of the quaestors will likewise excite some- 
thing like surprise ; still, however, the use of the profession 
is so far recognized, that under certain regulations it is al- 
lowed, and so far encouraged. 

* idcirco eadem sacrosancta Tridentina Synodus, &c, incepta con- 

tinuare, et ad laudabilera effectum Domino perducere, cupiens, &c. 

■]■ The reader can hardly forbear to have observed generally, and par- 
ticularly in the foregoing history, how religiously Romanists confine them- 
selves to the term abuses, when speaking of the corruptions, even the worst, 
of their church. The reason is obvious : an abuse implies a use ; and leaves 
possible the supposition, that the subject to which it attaches may be inno- 
cent or even laudable. The scriptures themselves may be abused : the most 
vitious superstitions may be founded upon them ; and by ascending to a real 
or imaginary origin, the vocation of the most profligate of the papal queestors 
may be referred, as was done, to a charitable concern for the establishment of 
Christian churches and other pious speculations. But whether a thing be 
originally good or evil, it must stand or fall by what it is : and the purer the 
fountain, the fouler are the streams when they become contaminated by sin. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXI. 



215 



Several observations were made on the proposed reforms. 
The bishop of the Five Churches was disappointed that 
more serious and beneficial measures were not proposed ; 
and stated the want of cathedrals in Germany and Hungary, 
in parts of which countries there was not a cathedral in an 
area of three hundred miles. Many others, directly or ob- 
liquely complained, that more solid and profitable proposals 
were not made by the council. Several of the ecclesiastical 
regulations were the subject of appropriate criticism. On 
the remaining parts the fathers were well agreed, except that 
relating to the quaestors, concerning which there was no 
little contention. The greater part inveighed against them 
with the utmost vehemence, charging upon them the origin 
of Lutheranism ; and, enlarging upon their infinite frauds 
and impostures, contended for their utter extirpation. Others 
more indulgent proved, that the office was very antient, and 
approved by several councils, although the same councils 
repressed several abuses which had connected themselves 
w r ith it. They added, that thence originated many hospitals 
and charitable institutions ; that by the means of this body 
the supreme pontiff distributed indulgences and spiritual 
gifts among the Christian population to the great relief of 
their conscience, particularly in the case of those, who from 
distance could not easily approach the supreme pontiff, and 
obtain thus the desired expiation ; and that these treasures 
of the church should not be locked up, but rather guarded 
in their distribution with such regulations, as to show that 
the office was not intended for lucre, but for piety. After 
a great deal of debate, the legates compromised by sug- 
gesting, that the quaestors should not be permitted to ex- 
ercise their office, except with the sanction of the ordinary*. 
Many of the fathers, however, were not at all disposed to be 
satisfied, and contended that nothing could effectually re- 
strain the impostures and profligacy of this order of men, 

* nisi secura adhibito ordinario. The reader may suspect, that in 

this account I have indulged in some exaggeration ; but it is not the case, I 
have kept strictly to my original. 



216 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



and that it was a great burthen to allow such flagitious cha- 
racters to gain a livelihood in this way. Fortunately, at this 
very time it happened, that the archbishop of Lanciano, who 
had been sent, to the pope as nuncio, on this and other 
similar questions, returned, and reported his holiness's 
opinion, that it was for the interest of the church that this 
odious order should be altogether abolished: and it was 
decreed accordingly. 

In the mean time the storm on the subject of residence 
had not subsided. As soon as it was announced at Rome 
that the legates had pledged themselves to bring it on, and 
that the ambassadors of the princes were upon the alert, an 
universal suspicion arose in the papal court, that some great 
event was at hand. Many interpreted the affair as the 
commencement of a conspiracy against the apostolic see; 
and his holiness himself, in proportion to his efforts and 
sacrifices for the benefit of the church and the prelates, was 
vexed at these oblique councils and arts. It was reported, 
that the cardinal of Mantua fell under his displeasure, as 
encouraging the sedition, from his attachment to some sects 
of regulars, who pursue everything which is attended with 
the appearance of piety. He complained of the Venetian 
ambassador, and some prelates of that state, on the same 
ground. He likewise assembled some cardinals and divines 
to deliberate what was best to be done in the present emer- 
gency. Cardinal Morone, who from his affinity with some 
of the principal accomplices, (as they are called,) and pro- 
moters of residence by divine right, was in the council sus- 
pected of concurring with them, parried the suspicion like a 
prudent man *, by writing letters to two of the prelates at 
Trent strongly reprobating the proceedings of the party. 

It will now be of advantage to consult the letters of Vis- 
conti, bishop of Ventimiglia, who was sent by the pontiff to 
Trent for the express purpose of informing him in a way 
most satisfactory to himself, how the affairs of the council 

* We shall see an additional testimony to the prudence of this cardinal 
in the proper place. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXI. 



217 



stood, and were conducted. He, in fact, may almost 
be considered, if not as superseding, yet as superintend- 
ing the legates. The letters are addressed to Cardinal 
Borromeo, the pope's nephew. The bishop had arrived 
at Trent on the 11th of June *. In a letter of the 16th 
he enters rather at large on the manner in which he had 
employed himself since his arrival, and of the caution 
with which he was making himself acquainted with the state 
of things ; and, at the close, he refers to the misunderstanding 
occasioned by the stirring question of residence between the 
two legates, the cardinal of Mantua and Simonetta. From 
another letter, soon after, it appears, that the nuncio set 
about the work of reconciliation with great zeal and address, 
having conferred with both parties, who hardly seem to have 
known why they differed. A few days onward the subject 
is resumed. But it appeared, that one cause of jealousy 
was, that the letters, which were formerly directed to the 
chief legate, were afterwards addressed to the other. Some- 
thing is likewise intimated respecting the declaration of the 
continuation of the council. But it is in a letter of the 
2nd of July, and in the close, which is in cipher, that the 
clearest discovery of the state of things and parties is made. 
There the writer declares his conviction, that when Order is 
discussed, there is an expectation from promise to the pur- 
pose, that residence will be introduced, which he anticipates 
will be productive of no little danger. He had conversed with 
many who espoused it, and they affirmed their party to be 
stronger than was apprehended. Among these were some 
well disposed to the papal interest, one of whom acknow- 
ledged to the writer that he continued in the same senti- 
ment, in order that he might retain his consistency ; and 
this, he inferred, would be the conduct of the rest; they 
likewise alleged their conscience. As for any change for the 
better, if Mantua, as was rumoured, should resign, he con- 

* Servantio has it the 14th ; but he is plainly wrong ; for Visconti has 
mentioned the 11th twice. His coming might be unknown for some days, 
as he is said to have kept himself very private. 



218 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



sidered the expectation quite groundless. He therefore sees 
no other remedy than that, before the session of the sacrifice 
of the mass, his holiness should issue a breve declaring resi- 
dence necessary, and attaching a greater penalty to non-resi- 
dence, with other conditions appearing expedient to his 
beatitude ; and in this manner he thought every one would 
be readily satisfied *. The next letter of the 6th of July 
mentions the application of the ambassadors of the empire 
and Bavaria to have the subject of communion in both kinds 
discussed. The French ambassador united with them, and 
added, that in France it was desired to have worship in the 
vernacular tongue, which he thought right, and argued for 
the abolition of the images of saints, and of the enforcement 
of celibacy on the clergy. It is thought that the request of 
the emperor being conceded, other demands, such as the 
preceding, will follow, and that if it be not conceded, he will 
be exasperated. On the 13th of July, the nuncio expresses 
himself much aggrieved by the licence of speech, in which 
the fathers indulged themselves ; and adds, that he had 
recommended to the legates the example of their predecessor 
Crescentio, who, when he perceived the prelates to wander, 
interrupted them without ceremony, and bade them keep to 
the point ; and thus brevity would be secured, and novelties 
precluded. Onward he notices the breve, which Monsignor 
di Lanciano had brought from Rome. The long conclusion 
in cipher is an account of the measures taken to produce at 
least an external reconciliation between the two disunited 
legates. 

We now return to the author of the Acts ; and some repe- 
tition must be tolerated in giving his direct narrative. The 
cardinal of Mantua, indignant at being made the object of 
so much obloquy and calumny at Rome, wrote to his holi- 
ness, that he had strained every nerve in the service of him 
and the church ; but that, since he found his efforts were 
not acceptable, he solicited dismission from his present situa- 

* — eke in questo mode si quietaria ogniuno piu facilmente. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXT. 



219 



tion. Having obliged himself to allow the discussion of 
residence, he could not in honour retain his office unless he 
fulfilled the engagement : he therefore earnestly intreated 
his holiness to allow him to retire from the inauspicious 
legation. Many of the prelates took this opportunity of 
leaving the council, not without addressing a letter to the 
pontiff on the present unhappy aspect of affairs, signed by 
thirty-two of them. 

The archbishop of Lanciano was now at Rome; and, 
dreading the effects of the legate's resignation, he represented 
them strongly to the pontiff — the observations of heretics, 
the offences and suspicions among the members of the coun- 
cil, the resentments of his private friends. These he insisted 
upon with so much force, that the mind of his holiness, 
commended for its benevolence, was entirely changed, and he 
wrote to his servant with his own hand, not only exhorting, 
but charging him, upon his obedience, to continue his presi- 
dency of the council. He ordered a breve to be written to 
the prelates who had written to him concerning residence, 
which he entrusted to the nuncio, with verbal instructions 
how to act with the president and with the prelates. 

The president, upon this communication, being equally 
sensible of the evils which might follow his resignation, 
sacrificed all private feelings to the good of trie church. As 
to residence, the nuncio informed him, how well affected his 
holiness was to it, — how it should be conducted, — and sug- 
gested that in due time all difficulties might be surmounted. 
By private letters Simonetta was directed to omit no respect 
to the superior legate, and to take care that the explanation 
of the divine right should proceed no farther. The arch- 
bishop from Rome, when he had delivered the breve to the 
prelates, represented it as his holiness's desire, that the seeds 
of contention which the Evil Demon is accustomed to scatter 
should be dismissed, and that the tranquillity and mutual 
agreement which are imparted by the Holy Spirit should 
be cultivated. In former councils, when matters of contro- 
versy arose, they were either rejected or suppressed : as in 



220 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



the present the question of the conception of the virgin, and 
an article of justification — examples which should now be 
followed. To all this he subjoined his persuasion, that if 
the fathers would remit the whole affair to his holiness, he 
would, by a diploma, pronounce residence to be a matter of 
his own jurisdiction. But this was said in vain; for no one 
could persuade himself to acquiesce *. 

A new form of the doctrine proposed to be adopted by 
the session on the Eucharist was then exhibited; and in 
the volume of Paleotto several pages are occupied with the 
decrees and canons in an amended condition. 

On the 14th of July, when there was only one intervening 
day before the session, the archbishop of Granada disturbed 
the harmony of the congregation by starting anew doubts 
about the .acceptation of the sixth chapter of St. John's 
gospel, whether it were to be understood spiritually only, or 
with reference to the sacrament in question. It was an- 
swered, that the difficulty had a twofold aspect, as it con- 
cerned the varying opinions among catholics themselves, 
with which it was better to have nothing to do ; and as it 
concerned the debate with the heretics, who derived from it 
an argument for the use of the cup, or both kinds. This 
point it was unnecessary to determine. But, says the 
speaker, the cardinal Seripando, glancing at the presumed 
object of the archbishop, nothing can be more disgraceful, 
or expose the council to more general contempt, than 
the continually repeated announcement of prorogation at 
every session. The debates upon the subject, however, 
were not so silenced, but that, at last, to preclude all am- 
biguity, it was proposed by the legates to add the words, 
' however it be understood, according to the various inter- 
' pretations of the holy fathers and doctors.' To this eighty- 
seven agreed, and twelve only dissented, on the ground, 
that it was more for the dignity of the synod to pass over 

* — cum diplomate suae jurisdictionis esse residentiam declaraturum. Sed 
frustra hoc dictum, nec euim quisque verbis hujusmodi acquiescendum in 
animum poterat inducere. So I correct suo jurisdiction!. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXI. 



221 



the matter than to publish that a controversy exirted upon 
it. Others were actuated by personal objection to the prin- 
cipal mover. 

On the next day, when the legates nattered themselves 
that no more obstacles would arise, two of the pontifical 
divines, one of them Salmeron the Jesuit, came forward 
with several objections, which it cost the legates some trouble 
to remove : after which the day of the next session was 
fixed for the 17th of September. But even then the legates 
had a fresh trial of their patience to endure. As the meet- 
ing was just breaking up, a member loudly called upon the 
assembly to hear him. By the direction of the presidents 
the fathers returned to their seats, although the good man 
had very little of importance to say. And this is expressly 
related by the historian, as he declares, for the purpose of 
proving how much liberty of speech was allowed in the 
council. Although there was no further room left for con- 
troversy, the theologians, it is said, ceased not to move 
every stone to introduce some additional doctrine. The two 
instances which are given, and which seem to have been 
attended to, were of very minor importance. It was, how- 
ever, promised, that they should be considered in the ses- 
sion following that just present. 

When the 16th of July arrived, after a little interruption 
the session commenced with the usual ceremonies. Dudith 
preached. Plenary indulgences were not omitted. 

The decree of doctrine was then read, consisting of four 
chapters, and as many canons. Of the addition in the first 
chapter, recognizing the varying interpretation of a portion 
of scripture by the fathers and doctors of the church, we 
have already said something. But it becomes those who have 
sworn to the Tridentine creed of Pius IV, to consider how 
far their self-imposed obligation to interpret the scriptures 
no otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the 
fathers, is to be reconciled with the conciliar admission of their 
want of unanimity in the interpretation of a particular, and in 
all senses important portion of scripture; and when, in de- 



222 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



monstrable fact, the variation extends to an infinitude of other 
portions. — The canons require no particular notice. 

On Reformation the decree is divided into nine chapters, 
respecting — the prohibition of taking any thing for confer- 
ring orders; the not taking orders without means of sub- 
sistence; the distribution of the third part of revenues to 
the benefit of assistants, as the bishop, who shall act as 
delegate of the apostolic see, shall direct ; the making per- 
petual unions in cases of insufficiency ; the remedy for in- 
competent and vitious curates, (in the terms which have 
already been noticed ;) the transfer of the benefices of ruined 
places of worship; and the visitation of monasteries and 
such institutions. The last is upon the subject of quaestors ; 
and it deserves to be given without abridgment. 

e In process of time several remedies, which had formerly 
' been employed by different councils, as of Lateran, Lyons, 
f and Vienne, against the abuses and irregularity of the 
6 quaestors; and their disorders seeming rather to increase 
c daily, to the great scandal of the faithful, who have just 
' reason to complain, so that there appears no remaining 
f hope of amendment, the holy council ordains, that hence- 
f forth in every Christian place their name and use shall be 
e altogether abolished, nor shall they be allowed to exercise 
' such an office any longer, notwithstanding the privileges 
s granted to churches, monasteries, hospitals, charitable 
e places, and any persons of whatsoever rank, state and dig- 
' nity, or even immemorial customs. It decrees, however, 
e that indulgences, or other spiritual graces, of which there- 
' fore the faithful of Christ ought not to be deprived, shall 
' henceforward be published to the people by the ordinaries 
e of the place, with two of the chapter, at proper times. To 
' whom a faculty shall be given of faithfully collecting, with- 
c out any remuneration, the alms, and charitable contribu- 
c tions offered to them ; that all may understand, that these 
' celestial treasures of the church are administered, not for 
' gain, but for the advancement of piety.' 

The terms upon which the two parties in this concern 



1562.] 



SESSION XXI. 



223 



stand towards each other are remarkable. Of the value of 
the body above referred to to the papal system and its sove- 
reign, in various ways, and very substantial ones, no one 
can doubt. Yet the office, lucrative to the undertakers 
and beneficial to those who employ them, must be accepted 
with the understanding, that if, as may frequently happen, 
the discharge of their duty, from the intensity or impru- 
dence of their zeal, should bring disgrace upon their prin- 
cipals, they must be prepared to submit to being publicly 
disowned, vilified, and threatened with extermination ; sup- 
porting themselves by the well-founded assurance, that 
unless in cases of appropriation of their receipts in too large 
a proportion to their own use, no expression of enmity or 
even diminished affection is really intended, and that no 
inconvenience will ensue % The parties are too dependent 
upon each other to be guilty of serious quarrels ; and with 
great honesty they may reciprocally sing, 

Tecum vivere amem, tecum obeam libens. 
In consequence of the severe blow inflicted upon the whole 
speculation by the revival and progress of reformed Christi- 
anity, there is less sacrifice in denouncing and execrating 
this unfortunate class ; and it is somewhat amusing to read, 
in the Declarations of the Congregation for interpreting the 
Council of Trent, with what a torrent of virtuous indignation 
the members express their detestation of the impostures and 
iniquities of the pestiferous race of qusestorsf. — The latter 

* Tetzel himself would never have been in disgrace had he not, by 
being exposed, brought infamy and mischief upon the cause in which he 
laboured. 

f I refer to the MS. which I have in eight volumes. I hope the edition by 
Zamboni at Rome is faithful ; for there would be some trial in a few parts. 
The portion relative to the quaestors, who in this instance are those of the 
kingdom of Naples, is to be found in the vith part, or volume. The chirur- 
gical speculation pursued at great length is infamous. There is a curious 
indulgence of ten years, in Italian, in the iiid part. A letter of the legates, 
before this history is concluded, will furnish us with another instance still 
more alarming. An Irish titular, Dr. Doyle, in a kind of parliamentary 
examination, knew of no indulgences extending farther than seven years. 
Dr. Challoner, a vicar apostolic, as he is called, in his Catholic Instructed, 



224 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



portion of the decree discovers pretty plainly how the first 
part is to be understood. 

The decrees were received with little hesitation, although 
with some. The next session was appointed to be held on 
the 17th of September ensuing. 

The number present appears in the Diary, and in Le 
Plat, but the presidents, cardinal, and ambassadors of the 
princes alone are specified. The prelates amounted to 177. 
The theologians were 95. 

In the letter written by Visconti on the same day he gives 
an account of the session and reckons the prelates at 175. 
In the latter part, in cipher, he enters into particulars, 
which substantially, and rather minutely agree with the 
narration above. Of the proposed addition of the archbishop 
of Granada he says, that had it been proposed at a suitable 
time, and not so near the session it would have been almost 
unanimously adopted. As it was, about 62, (it certainly 
should be 12,) answered non placet. Several other parti- 
culars are mentioned; and the sudden* proposal of some 
motions is censured by him. 

Session XXII. 
PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 
Doctrine : Sacrifice of the Mass — Reformation: Ecclesiastical Regulations. 

The first event of importance, with which the present por- 
tion of this history is concerned, is, the apparently confirmed 
reconciliation of the two alienated legates. Another affair 
of some importance was, a letter of the king of Spain to his 

wishes to doubt whether there were such things as indulgences for a hun- 
dred and more years. Dr. Milner doubts, whether there were such a vile 
book as the Taxae Pcenitentiariae. Our great naval hero, Nelson, when 
before Copenhagen, was told, that the admiral in chief gave signal to with- 
draw. He turned, and, putting his hand over his effective eye, said, I see 
no signal. No system, moral or religious, teaches the art of looking at 
things with the blind eye so completely as the Roman Catholic. 
* cose nuove all' improviso. 



15G2.] session xxii. 225 

ambassador at the council, the Marquess of Pescara, ex- 
pressing his consent, that his prelates should cease to press 
the disuniting subjects of continuation and residence. This, 
when made known to them, did not please the Spanish 
prelates; and Granada respectfully, but firmly, remon- 
strated, adding, that the king was misinformed, and under 
the influence of sinister councils, and that he himself, al- 
though he should forbear protesting, should still persist in 
advocating the point of residence in particular. For these 
facts we are indebted to an epistle of Visconti of the date of 
July the 20th*. 

The historian of the Acts, in order to avoid the confusion 
which might arise from the varied subjects of discussion pre- 
paratory to the ensuing session, divides his account into the 
four following parts — I. the Sacrifice of the Mass; II. the 
use of the Cup; III. Reformation; IV. Abuses of the 
Mass. 

To secure greater celerity in the examinations, the theolo- 
gians and canonists were classified, and had each their 
separate department. Thirteen articles were prepared for 
them on the subject of the mass. The 1st was, whether the 
mass were a commemoration only, and not a true sacrifice ; 
2. whether the sacrifice of the mass derogate from the sacri- 
fice on the cross; 3. whether by the words, 4 this do in 
remembrance of me,' Christ ordained, that his apostles 
should offer his body and blood in the mass ; 4. whether the 
sacrifice of the mass benefit the receiver alone, and cannot 
be offered for others, as well living as dead, nor for their 
sins, satisfactions, and other necessities ; 5. whether private 
masses, in which the priest alone communicates, are un- 
lawful, and to be abrogated; 6. whether the mixture of 
water with wine be repugnant to the institution; 7. whether 

* In my MS. the date is the 22d, but it is evidently corrected by the next 
letter at the beginning. It is likewise the date which Courayer gives in his 
reference in the margin. It may be observed, how accurately Fra Paolo 
has represented the information of Visconti in this place. The details of 
both perfectly agree. I have given only the substance. 



226 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



the canon of the mass contain errors,, and is to be abrogated ; 
8. whether the Roman custom of consecrating secretly and 
in a low tone is to be condemned; 9. whether the mass 
should be celebrated in the vulgar and known tongue; 
10. whether appropriating certain masses to certain saints be 
an abuse; 11. whether the ceremonies, &c. observed in 
celebrating should be discontinued; 12. whether the mys- 
tical immolation of the Lord be the same as being given us 
to eat ; 13. whether the mass be a sacrifice of praise and 
thanksgiving; whether likewise a propitiatory sacrifice for 
the living as well as the dead. Let it be said, whether these 
articles be erroneous, or false, or heretical, and to be con- 
demned by the holy synod. 

The legates desirous of guarding against the loss of time, 
arising, not only from the number of speakers, but from 
their prolixity, proposed certain regulations, composed by the 
historian, and approved by the fathers. The principal of 
them was, that each speaker should be limited to half an 
hour*. 

This part of the rule, however, was not strictly observed. 
Salmeron, the pope's theologian, relying perhaps upon that 
privilege, contrived to occupy the whole space of one congra- 
gation with his own speech. And his colleague followed his 
example, to the great annoyance of the legates, who deter- 
mined to make an example of the transgressors. In fact so 
little authority had the determination of the synod to regu- 
late its own proceedings, that, according to our authority, 
Visconti, in four congregations only six individuals had 
spoken. 

Some progress, however, was made ; doctrine and canons 
were composed. The theologians determined, by various 
reasons and authorities, that the mass was a true sacrifice. 
There occurred indeed some obstacle to their unanimity. A 
Portuguese divine set himself to overturn all the foundations 
of his associates. Indeed, according to Sarpi, who gives him 

* These regulations are preserved at length in Servantio ; and they are 
found in Le Plat. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXTI. 



227 



the name of George d'Ataida, he made such approaches to 
common sense in his argument, as to present the strange ap- 
pearance of a protestant in the very council of Trent. But 
it became quite necessary, that another divine of the same 
nation should extricate his brother, by making it evident, 
that the unfortunate man intended exactly the opposite to 
what he said. This, without names, is perfectly substan- 
tiated by the representation of Visconti himself, in a letter of 
the 27th of July; who complains, that the theologians con- 
tinued the offence of lengthiness. The theologians, however, 
at last agreed in a doctrine on the subject, consisting of four 
long chapters, and fortified by several canons. As these 
were not finally adopted, it is of no adequate importance to 
transcribe them. 

They came to the criticism of the fathers on the 11th of 
August; when it was debated, whether the canons should be 
preceded by a statement of doctrine, or not*. There were 
three opinions on the subject. Some would have it altoge- 
ther omitted, others would have a simple declaration without 
reasons ; the greater part were for clear and solid doctrine, 
supported by the best arguments and authorities. The first 
argued, that the heretics would be little likely to be convinced 
by arguments, being chiefly from traditions, which they 
despised; and that the catholics needed nothing in that 
wayf. The second adduced reasons which are obvious. 
The third, rather more original, maintained, that the synod 
sustained the character, not only of a judge, but of a teacher 
and parent, ready to give a reason of its acts, and more 
prepared to win the hearts of the heretics by argument, 

* The cardinal of Augsburg, in a letter of his to cardinal and legate 
Hosius, dated July 14, 1562, referring to this question, when started before 
by the legates, writes, Probatur mihi et tua et Canisii ratio docendi prius 
quam execrandi. I refer to it for the execrandi, which signifies the canons 
with their anathema. How coolly do Romanists talk of cursing those whom 
they esteemed heretics ! This letter occurs in Jul. Pogiani Epp. vol. iii. 
Rom. 1757. 

f See to the same purpose in the sequeh 

Q2 



228 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[J 562. 



than to exterminate them by the sword. The logic of the 
last prevailed. 

This determination, our author relates, introduced a se- 
rious disputation among the fathers, whether Christ offered 
himself for human redemption at the supper, or on the cross. 
This question, which had formerly been omitted, now en- 
grossed the whole attention and energies of the fathers, and 
there were four opinions upon it. It is unnecessary to par- 
ticularize. There was of course truth intermingled^ but 
smothered. It may readily be imagined, why many of the 
Roman church contended for the redemption being made in 
the supper. Others held that sacrifice not to be expiatory 
but eucharistic. They talked of a double oblation, one ge- 
neral, the other spiritual, and supported their distinction by 
various subtleties. A third party, as usual, reconciled the 
opposite ones, either by uniting both, or steering the middle 
way between them. 

The question then of the mass in the vulgar tongue came 
to be stated, and precedent was adduced in its favour, but 
the fog of papal superstition extinguished the feeble taper. 

In consequence, however, of these discussions the proposed 
doctrine was remodelled, and assumed the general form in 
which it was established at the session. We have now, in 
regular form, the dogma of a proper sacrifice in the Lord's 
Supper, supported by the sacerdotal character and act of 
Melchisedec, the well-known passage of Malachi, and the 
analogy with the sacrifices of the Jews and heathens, as re- 
presented in the first of St. Paul's epistles to the Corin- 
thians*, and so on, with suitable anathematizing canons, the 

* All this is duly introduced into the first chapter of the doctrine of the 
acrifice of the mass, established at the session ; and this would be suffi- 
cient, if no other proof were adducible of the importance put by Romanists 
upon these scriptural arguments for their sacrifice of the mass, and the ex- 
clusive priesthood of their church. The character and assumed sacrificial 
acts of Melchisedec are their principal reliance, as they are first in order. 
It is, therefore, less matter of surprise than of regret and reprobation that 



1562.] 



SESSION XXII. 



229 



third of which is, — ( If any one shall say, that by these 
words, 6e Do this in remembrance of me," Christ did not 
institute and ordain the apostles priests to offer his body and 
blood, let him be anathema.' 

On the 7th of September the opinions of the fathers were 
taken afresh, when the archbishop of Granada set upon the 
third canon, contending, not only that it more properly be- 
longed to the sacrament of order, but that many names of 
high authority in the church referred the ordination of the 
apostles, not to the words alleged, but to those in which our 
Lord, addressing them, said, * Receive ye the Holy Ghost.' 
Many from this beginning anticipated a prolix disputation • 
but, adds the historian, it pleased the divine benignity, that 
others who spake on the same side were short ; and although 
one enlarged in a rather troublesome manner upon the po- 
pular superstitions which might seem to be sanctioned by what 
is said of the effects of the sacrificial mass, yet the majority 
approved the doctrine proposed with wonderful consent, and 

the commissioners of education of the poor in Ireland, in the first number 
of the lessons recommended, and virtually enjoined by their authority and 
tbe authority of government, have lent and surrendered themselves to the 
wishes and interests of a church most hostile, and particularly in this instance^ 
to what ought to be their own. In the prominence and form, which they 
have given to this portion of sacred history, and more particularly iu the 
compromise which they have made of the truth of translation, they have 
discovered an indifference of religious principle, if not of partiality to error, 
which is greatly to be deplored. Our authorized translation of Gen. xiv. 18 
which is just, whatever be the consequence. 4 and he was the priest,' &c. is, 
in the lessons, ' being a priest.' Now the first translation leaves undetermined 
any connexion between the bringing forth bread and wine, even if that couid 
be proved to be any thing more than administering suitable refreshment ; 
but the other evidently implies such a connexion, agreeably to the vulgate 
erat enim. But it will be said this is not going the whole length ; no, it is 
not giving up the whole truth, for it is only giving up half. But how 

stands the truth, if the vulgate is not the original ? *^h^ bi^7 1HD NliT) ; 
and how will any honest man translate this but as our translators have 
done ? To cut off subterfuge, there are no various readings in De Rossi. 
The plain inference to be made respecting the principle of the government 
plan of education for Ireland is painful, but necessary. The inference is 
both painful and necessary, that our present government think of Chris- 
tianity very nearly as the profligate Dean Swift did of music. 



230 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



were filled with joy both at the effect and the brevity of the 
discussion,, ascribing the whole to the present grace of the 
Holy Spirit. 

But as Satan — this is closely the language of the original 
— never ceases to scatter around the seeds of discord, and to 
unsettle what is settled, four Spanish prelates, he of Gra- 
nada one, required of the legates an audience on the very 
next day, when they declared that they were urged by their 
office and their conscience, to open their minds and say, that 
they could never approve the promulgation of the third 
canon in the present session. Their reasons were, that it 
had been discussed but imperfectly, either by the divines or 
the fathers, and that the fathers were not united in their 
opinion on the subject. They thought it therefore best to 
defer the matter to a future session. Hosius, who had com- 
mitted himself by a publication on the question, modestly 
opposed them. It happened, however, that the day before 
the session, the 16th of September, when every thing ap- 
peared to be settled, and the congregation was preparing for 
departure, the Spanish prelate put himself forward, and 
commenced a long attack upon the third canon, alleging, 
that Dionysius, Maximus, and Chrysostom, contradicted it, 
assigning the sacerdotal ordination of the apostles, not to 
the holy supper, but to the day of pentecost, at the miraculous 
effusion of the Holy Spirit. This was a signal for much 
strife of tongues, which the legate Hosius attempted to pacify, 
by distinguishing into two parts the power conferred upon 
the apostles, one of which was given at the supper, the 
other at the pentecost. One bishop, probably anticipating 
the contest, had furnished himself with a written list of ar- 
guments in favour of the canon, which was read, and others 
joined him. The tumult, however, increased, and it re- 
quired the assisting management of two more of the legates 
to bring the meeting to a peaceable close. The means did 
not escape without censure ; for Simonetta seems to have 
expressed himself as relying upon the obstinacy of those who 
favoured the canon to an extent which might be interpreted to 



1562.] 



SESSION XXII. 



231 



imply, that they were perfect proof against, any opposing 
arguments, however conclusive and convincing. So far the 
business of the council had proceeded relative to the mass. 

The next division is the use of the Cup, or communion in 
both kinds. The Emperor of Germany was urgent for this 
indulgence to his subjects, and upon a prior application to 
that purpose his holiness had, a few months before, referred 
the matter to the deliberation of the council 

The bishop of the five churches accordingly, in the name 
of his master, frequently applied to the legates for this con- 
cession by the authority of the synod. He urged, that if it 
were granted, there were hopes, that those who separated 
from the Roman church might return to it, when dreadful 
wars and consequent bloodshed were anticipated as the con- 
sequence of refusal. The legates suggested that the favour 
might be granted by his holiness to some, for a place and a 
time, but that the fathers could never be prevailed upon 
to give it generally their authority. The bishop was con- 
founded; but after expressing the highest opinion of the 
dignity and authority of the pope, he observed, that the em- 
peror and his subjects would be much disappointed at the 
result, since his holiness had pledged himself to the imperial 
ambassador, that the affair should be left to the determina- 
tion of the synod. If, therefore, now it should be sent 
back from the synod to his holiness, he feared the people 
would suspect that their sovereign of set purpose was trifled 
with. He, therefore, earnestly besought the legates to allow 
the subject to be proposed to the council. Two papers, the 
one a long, and the other an abridged one, containing the 
reasons in favour of the request, had been composed ; and 
the legates were requested to direct them to be read by the 
fathers previously to the discussion of their contents, to which 
the chief legate seemed to assent. 

The longer document appears in the collection of Le Plat ; 
the shorter is given by Paleotto. 

It is needless to detail obvious particulars, but it deserves 
to be noticed, that the demand of the cup is represented as 



232 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



proceeding, not merely from the lower classes, but from the 
nobles and barons. 

The French ambassadors presented a petition to the same 
purpose. 

The legates, wishing to accommodate themselves to all 
parties, resolved upon two decrees, in one of which the 
synod declares, that the cup may be, and the most holy pon- 
tiff is willing that it should be, allowed to some people on 
reasonable grounds ; in the other, that the authority to allow 
it should rest on some bishops in the particular places^ 
under certain conditions. This method was approved by 
his holiness. The legates, however, understanding the 
aversion of the fathers, abandoned the plan, and determined 
that the matter should be treated in the usual way, and 
after some apologies presented two new propositions. 

Much interest and agitation were excited on this subject; 
and the day before taking the votes, the 28th of August, the 
bishop of the five churches, as imperial ambassador, ad- 
dressed the congregation in a long speech, in which he said 
that Ceesar confessed and lamented, that the desire of the 
cup was the disease of his provinces, and throughout he 
commended himself as a most devoted son of the Roman 
church. Much discussion followed. The observations of 
the archbishop of Rossano were among the most remarkable. 
He enlarged upon the difficulty of preserving the wine from 
natural changes, and presumed desecrations, and added, 
that in many populous parishes, on a festival, the quantity 
consumed would be so great, that flagons and casks would 
be necessary. The archbishop of Braga described four sorts 
of minds on the subject, to the last of which, the infirm, he 
was of opinion no concession should be made. The arch- 
bishop of Lanciano was of a different opinion. The sub- 
stance of the speeches of the fathers is given in great and 
patient detail by our author, and probably with as much 
integrity ; but throughout there is really such an absence of 
legitimate and scriptural reasoning, that it will be deemed 
sufficient simply to say, that there was some variation in. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXII. 



233 



their sentiments. It may not, however, be irrelevant or 
unimportant to notice the address of the concluding speaker, 
the well-known Lainez, general of the Jesuits. He, of 
course, was unfavourable to the concession of the cup 3 and 
would have the bishops and pastors more attended to than 
the emperor, who was rather a son than the protector of the 
church. Nor let us fear, addressing the fathers directly, he 
adds, that if the assistance of princes fail, that of God will 
do so likewise, since with an intrepid faith we even remem- 
ber that the holy church, founded on the most precious 
blood of his son, although it may be reduced to a small 
number, shall yet never perish. This comes from a captain 
in the host of papal Philistines, who are ever casting in the 
teeth of a reformed, that is, a true church, that she traces 
her succession through the diminished numbers of the faith- 
ful in the valleys of the north of Italy — numbers which the 
apostate church of that Italy contrived to make and keep 
diminished. She is welcome to the whole benefit of her 
multitude, with the seductions by which it is secured, and 
the barbarity with which it has been protected, hanging 
about her neck. 

Our author seems to exult in the variety and liberty dis- 
played in the scenes which he had been describing, and pro- 
ceeds to notice the extravagance of a regular canon, who as- 
serted, that the proposed concession savoured of heresy. The 
zealot was reproved by the president, and made an apology*. 

The bishop of Philadelphia proposed, that the imperial 
ambassadors should not be present at the discussions 
respecting the cup. The bishop of Cahorle contradicted 

* This fact is mentioned more strongly by Visconti in a letter of the 7th 
of September, where he calls him General of the Order, and makes him say 
that the demand of the cup savoured not only of heresy, but of mortal sin. 
It may be proper here to adduce the speech of the bishop of Cava, (particu- 
larly as it confirms the veracity of Sarpi.) who, opposing the demand of the 
cup, said, that it ought by no means to be granted, although the ruin of 
many souls should be the consequence — non si doveva concedere in veruu 
modo, se bene ne dovesse succedere la perdita di molti anime. Visconti. 
Lett. Aug. 31, 1562. 



234 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



with great warmth, and repeated, that if the cup were not 
allowed, it was hardly possible that the synod could succeed. 
This sentence was traced to the bishop of the five churches 
in the varied form, that in such case it would have been 
better that the council had never had a beginning*. 

The historian contents himself for the remainder of the 
discussions on this subject with giving a summary of the ar- 
guments on both sides. The votes are enumerated, but are 
of little importance. 

When the ambassador understood how the matter was 
determined, he was much disturbed. He therefore pressed 
the legates to refer the subject to the pope, securing at the 
same time the consent of his holiness to the wishes of the 
emperor. He believed, that such a concession alone would 
reconcile the Germans to the doctrine to be established 
respecting the mass. The legates, too, were apprehensive of 
the opposition of the ambassador in the latter particular, if 
the former were not in some way complied with. They 
therefore directed the auditor to draw up a form of a decree, 
which should satisfy him. This was done; but it did not 
satisfy him ; and another was composed. This the fathers 
did not approve ; for, in their view, it superseded the prudence 
of the pontiff, to whom the whole council was judged inferior. 
They condemned it, however, only by a majority of 79 to 69. 
The president, finding that nothing w T ould content the fa- 
thers but an absolute reference to the pope, proposed a third 
form, which was discussed by them on the 16th of Septem- 
ber. The debate was warm; but Simonetta so effectually 
allayed it, that, as our author expresses himself, by God's 
assistance, the decree was carried by 98 against 38 : and the 
pontiff's honour, as arbiter, was established. Paleotto exults 
in this termination, and in the defeat of the imputed policy 
of the imperial ambassador. 

We are now arrived at the eagerly-pursued object — Re- 
formation. A long and elaborate memorial was exhibited on 
^bbfi 3il ba& ^ei*D3 c I moil exnoo blnov/ aiptoob ^JnswJ nsiiw 
* Visconti, Lett, ubi supra. 



1562.] 



SHSSION XXII. 



235 



the same to the council from the emperor. And the legates, 
in order that they might shew him due respect, extracted 
from it two points to be proposed to the fathers : the first, re- 
lating to the discipline and dress of clerics, the other to the 
manner of performing divine offices, which was referred to the 
head of abuses of the mass, and will be hereafter considered. 

In the mean time, Fourteen Canons of Reformation, which 
are transcribed at length, were prepared for the examina- 
tion of the congregation. These were adopted with but little 
alteration at the session. The debates which took place on 
the subject have nothing either of interest or value in them. 

The last of the four divisions presented to the reader in the 
original before us is, the Abuses of the Mass. And here we 
may observe, to the same purpose as before, that the decrees 
proposed differ so little from those which were approved and 
promulgated at the session, that it is a needless anticipation 
to offer any remarks upon them in their primitive and unau- 
thentic form. 

Our author observes, that there were many disposed to 
abolish what are called missae sicca?, that is, masses, in which 
all the rites were observed except consecration ; but that, 
upon more mature consideration, it was resolved to make no 
innovation; both because in the books which are called 
sacerdotal, their use appeared to be allowed, and because, in 
maritime excursions, the requisites of the sacrament could not 
always be obtained, and therefore a memorial alone is of 
value ; added to which, in many places, the ministry neces- 
sary to consecration was not present. The only possible 
substitute, therefore, in such cases, was not to be prohibited. 

In the mean time, letters came from Rome announcing, 
that the French ambassador had applied to his holiness that 
the session should be deferred in order to wait the arrival of 
the French prelates. Visconti, in the ciphered part of a 
letter of the 4th of September, writes, that Lanssac required 
that the session should not meet until the 20th of October, 
when twenty doctors would come from Paris ; and he adds, 
that the French prelates were determined to bring on the 



236 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



question, whether the pope were, or were not, superior to the 
council. The Spaniards would join them in this attempt; 
and he had been told by one of the legates, that the cardinal 
of Lorraine always discovered a wish to disturb and diminish 
the authority of the apostolic see, and to do all in his power 
that the sacred college should not continue the influence 
which it possessed in the pontificate. 

It may be proper here to refer to the letter immediately 
preceding, of the 3rd of September, which recognizes not 
only the meeting of a German diet, which was always a for- 
midable thing, at Frankfort, but another fact or speculation 
of more importance. The writer was in the confidence, and 
knew the mind, of his holiness sufficiently well. He repeats 
the report, that the prolongation of the council would produce 
finally some impediment to the object desired; and he had 
reason to fear that event from the prolixity of speech in which 
the prelates indulged themselves. He accordingly suggests 
the advantage which may be taken from the scarcity of grain 
then prevailing; that since neither the suspension nor the 
translation of the council were feasible, when the prelates 
begin to complain of the scarcity, which cannot be consi- 
dered as produced artificially, his holiness may call the 
council to himself, stating, that he desires to be present in 
it ; and it is probable, if this were proposed, that all the pre- 
lates, except the ultramontanists, would consent*. 

The historian has made a slight reference, rather out of 
place, to the letter of the king of Spain to his ambassador, 
the Marquess of Pescara at Trent, expressing his consent, 
that the disputation in favour of residence by his bishops 
should be discontinued. This we had learnt from Vis- 
conti before. Aud we now further learn from him something 
of the results. The nuncio, writing on the 10th of August, 
that he had obtained information of a letter composed by 
Granada and Segovia, in answer to this of their sovereign, 

* sendo cosa che non parera fatta con arte, attesa la carestia che e 

quasi universale; e che sua santita convocasse a se il concilio, con dire, che 
si vuole intravenire, et e verisimile, che proponendosi, &c. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXII. 



237 



complaining, firstly, of his holiness' aversion to the discussion 
of residence, and his invasion, in this instance, of the liberty 
of the council ; then, of the legates, that they had not per- 
mitted the subject to be freely debated ; lastly, of his ma- 
jesty himself, as discouraging so holy a declaration, as they 
call it, subjoining many lies for the purpose of more effec- 
tually persuading his majesty. They mean it to be under- 
stood, that all the ambassadors, and both parties of the 
prelates agree with them, which was not the fact. They 
add, that they did not intend to protest, when it was known, 
that they had already deputed three prelates for that pur- 
pose. The letter was subscribed by all the Spanish pre- 
lates, except eight*. In a subsequent letter the nuncio 
mentions, with apparent exultation, his having obtained a 
copy of this letter ; and in the next he again notices it, as 
a proof that, the minds of the Spanish prelates were not 
quieted by the means which their sovereign employed for 
that purpose. In the continuation of the ciphered part of 
this letter, (the date is the 17th of August,) the writer 
observes, that the legates intended taking the votes of the 
congregation as to referring the declaration of residence to 
his holiness, which, if carried, he continues, may remove 
existing difficulties, by enabling his holiness to evade such 
declaration by publishing a bull, binding the prelates to 
residence; which would satisfy more effectually than by 

* This letter is extant in the volume entitled Varia Tractata, dated the 
10th of August, 1562, and in Spanish. The account given of it by Vis- 
conti is by no means a fair one, although it touches upon the main points 
of its contents. The writers state the promise of the legates as the prin- 
cipal ground of their persevering in their application respecting the dis- 
cussion of residence : the first point of continuation they leave. They say 
they had made no protestation: it does uot appear that they promised to 
make none. They represent the cause as necessary and important, tracing 
back the disorders and abuses in the church to the source of non-residence. 
They supplicate his majesty to favour the only proper remedy by not for- 
bidding the subject to be brought forward ; and complaining, that the 
reformations proposed were comparatively of trifling importance, trust that 
the Christian world will not be disappointed of the great remedy which they 
expected from such an assemblage of prelates. 



238 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



suppressing the subject. But all would depend upon the 
movements of the Spaniards. 

In the postscript of a letter of the 14th of September, and 
in cipher, Visconti plainly relates, that by the representation 
of the bishop of Philadelphia, the Germans expected grave 
and important matters under the head of reformation, and 
particularly pluralities, to be deliberated upon by the coun- 
cil. The prelates of Conimbra and Paris said, that reform 
was wanted both in the head and members, and the latter, 
that he wished the French prelates to have expressed them- 
selves to the same purpose. Segovia wished for such a 
reform as physicians apply to the sick who need efficacious 
remedies : they use liniments and unguents. 

The day of session, the 17th of September, which had 
now arrived, was celebrated with the usual solemnities and 
acts. The decrees and canons, which may be seen in every 
collection, were read. 

The decree is divided into nine chapters. The general 
subject is, the doctrine of the sacrifice of the mass; and 
the subjects of the different chapters are — its institution ; 
its being propitiatory for the living and dead; masses in 
honour of the saints ; the canon of the mass ; the ceremo- 
nies attending it ; private masses ; the mixture of water with 
the wine ; celebration in the vulgar tongue ; a prolegomenon 
to the following canons. 

The canons, which are nine, anathematize those — who 
deny that in the offering of the mass there is a true and 
proper sacrifice ; that Christ instituted the apostles priests, 
by the words, « This do' &c. ; who assert, that the sacrifice 
is commemorative and not propitiatory; that it is blas- 
phemous or derogatory to the actual sacrifice of the cross; 
that it is an imposture to celebrate masses to the saints, in 
order to obtain their intercession, as the church intends f ; 
that the canon of the mass contains errors, and is therefore 
to be abolished; that the ceremonies, vestments, and sig- 
^ofthoaa-8ld43i9pe^ tedt rioiflw to bins • t bs^u$n bbw * ; 

* sicut ecclesia intendit. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXII. 



239 



nificant acts, in the celebration, rather excite impiety than 
piety ; that masses in which the priest alone communicates 
are unlawful and to be abrogated; and that using a low 
voice in consecrating is to be condemned, or that the mass 
should be celebrated in the vulgar tongue, or that a mix- 
ture of water with the wine is not to be used, as contrary to 
the institution of Christ. 

A decree follows of what is to be observed and what 
avoided in the celebration of the mass. 

The decree of Reformation contains eight chapters. 
They are mostly ecclesiastical regulations, either obvious or 
of inferior importance. The sixth, directing that last, wills 
are to be altered circumspectly, announces an authority 
trenching upon the civil. There is an additional decree 
concerning the petition for the concession of the cup, defer- 
ring the determination upon it. 

The next session was announced, as to take place on the 
12th of November following, when the subject for enact- 
ment would be, the sacraments, of order, of matrimony, &c. 
The session, however, was prorogued to the 15th of July, 
1563. 

Although the decrees proposed were carried, there was 
no small number of dissentients. On the mass, the arch- 
bishop of Granada maintained the objections which he had 
formerly made, and added, that the assertion of Christ's 
offering himself in the supper was exceptionable, since the 
holy doctors declare, that he did this once. The protest of 
the bishop of Segovia is remarkable, not only for its good 
reasoning, but for adducing a passage as forming a part of the 
decree, which does not appear in the present copies of it. 
{ Likewise what is affirmed in the doctrine, that by this most 
( holy offering, and unbloody sacrifice, of the altar, all the sa- 
\ crifices of nature and the law are perfected and consum- 
' mated, is disapproved, as well because it derogates much 
' from the bloody sacrifice of the cross, which was the fulfilment 
( of all that was figured, and of which that venerable sacrifice 



240 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



( of the altar is commemorative, and from which alone it 
( derives its force ; and also, because neither scripture nor 
' legitimate tradition affirms this *.' Several other prelates 
followed, expressing sentiments in different ways similar. 
On the decree of the concession of the cup, there was like- 
wise a considerable degree of dissatisfaction, either abso- 
lutely or in particular respects. The names are given in 
detail. Nothing passed unanimously but the appointment 
of the next day of session. 

The usual persons, and about the usual number were 
present. Of the most efficient class, the prelates, there 
were, according to both Servantio and Le Plat, 162. 

Visconti, in a letter of the date of the session, is exhi- 
larated at the manner in which it terminated. He expresses 
his thanks to God, that the canons and decrees were ap- 
proved with less contradiction, and greater satisfaction and 
joy than could well be believed. He reckons the number 
of prelates present at 180. He adds, (which discovers his 
authority in the council,) that when the printing of the 
decrees was in contemplation, he intimated to the legates 
that they should not be printed. He mentions it as a re- 
port, that the cardinal of Lorraine, when he makes his ap- 
pearance, will require the use of the cup for France, and 
likewise the removal of images. He was also informed, 
that the bishop of the Five Churches, on the day before, 
assembled the ambassadors of France, Portugal, and Switzer- 
land, and endeavoured to persuade them to insist upon the 
matter of reform, and to postpone doctrine ; which was of no 
use, he continues, since the incredulous and obstinate would 
not be induced to make any change, and the catholics had 

* Item quod in doctrina dicitur per hanc altaris hostiam sacrosanctam, 
et sacrificium incnientum omnia sacrificia naturae et legis perfici et con- 
summari; turn quia derogat multum sacrificio crucis cruento, cujus omne 
[quod omnis?] quod figuratur complementum fuit, et cujus istud venera- 
bile altaris sacrificium rememorativum est, et a quo solo habet vim suam ; 
turn quia non est scriptura, neque legitima traditio quae hoc afnrmet. 



1562] 



SESSION XXTI. 



241 



no need of further instruction. The same counsel had been 
suggested at an early period in the preparation for this 
session*. 

To enter at any length into an examination of the doctrine 
and reformation established at the session would require 
considerable space, and is not at all the professed or neces- 
sary undertaking of the present work. It only requires to 
be remarked, that if the pithets applied to the sacrifice of 
the mass, or the sacrament of the Lord's supper, mean any- 
thing, they express a palpable falsehood ; for sacrifice, in a 
true and proper sense, it is none at all. The very additional 
epithet, unbloody, is a perfect and decisive demonstration of 
this ; for it is of the essence of a sacrifice that it should be 
bloody, that it should be made a sacrifice by the loss of 
blood, or of life. If the epithets mean only, or allow to be 
meant, that the sacrifice is a figurative or improper one 
simply, this is to say, that it is neither a true nor a proper 
one ; that is, in one word, that the whole parade of conciliar 
definition is a fallacy, a deception. 



Session XXIII. 
PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Doctrine : Order — Reformation : Residence, Ecclesiastical Regulations. 

The session to which we are now approaching is eminently 
memorable for the contentions and hazards by which it was 
signalized. For, what never had occurred before, it was 
prorogued eight times, it was agitated for ten months with 
unceasing disputes, it lost two of its illustrious legates by 
death, and other events of importance followedf . 

After the close of the former session, the legates imme- 

* See Letter of the 6th of August. 

•f This exordium of the auditor, in some degree, reminds us of the sen- 
tence with which Tacitus opens his Histories. Opus aggredior opimum casi- 
bus, atrox praeliis, discors seditionihus, ipsa pace ssevum. Quatuor principes 
ferro interempti, &c. Hist, i., ii. 

R 



242 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



diately employed suitable persons, among whom was the 
auditor, to collect the subjects proper for consideration by 
the council. They accordingly put forth certain articles on 
the subject of the sacrament of order, to be examined by the 
theologians. It was with a design, which will evidently ap- 
pear, that these articles were heretical ones to be condemned, 
not, as was frequently the case, simple questions to be dis- 
cussed. 

These articles, contractedly, were, that order is not a 
sacrament, but a right ; that it is rather a human figment ; 
that the inferior degrees of order do not partake of the nature 
of a sacrament ; that an ecclesiastical hierarchy is a nullity, 
and that all Christians are likewise priests ; that no visible 
priesthood is discoverable in the New Testament, and that 
none are priests who do not preach ; that unction is of no 
value, and that the holy spirit is not imparted by ordination ; 
finally, that bishops are not superior to priests. 

Regulations were then issued to be observed by the theo- 
logians in examining the articles of the sacraments of order 
and of matrimony. Among these, as before, the principal one 
was, that the speeches should be limited to half an hour. 
The theologians were divided into three classes, and their 
names are specified. 

In the course of these preparations, the French ambas- 
sadors announced the apprehension of their sovereign, that 
as the adversaries, on whose account principally the council 
was convened, were not present at the past discussions, it 
might be said, that, the council was fighting with a shadow, 
and that it was easy to settle matters without an opponent. 
He therefore desired, that, as far as doctrine was concerned, 
decision should be deferred. The legates answered, that as 
to manners they had no objection ; but as to doctrine they 
could not comply, since the adversaries, so long expected, 
had pertinaciously refused their attendance at the synod. 
The imperial ambassador expressed a wish, nearly similar 
to that of the French, on the part of his Majesty, which 
was met by the council in the same manner. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



243 



The disputations had begun among the theologians on the 
subject of order, when some of the Spanish prelates com- 
plained grievously to Seripando, that among the articles 
proposed on this subject was omitted that which had been 
presented to the theologians in the council under Julius III, 
and in which it was contained, that episcopacy is of divine 
right, and bishops superior to presbyters. Seripando an- 
swered, that in that point there was no controversy with the 
heretics; it was therefore justly omitted. They rejoined, 
that Luther denied bishops to be of divine right. Seripando 
showed, that Luther admitted the institution of episcopacy 
to be of divine right ; but asserted that the rites attached to 
it were human inventions. They were not satisfied, and 
expressed their fear, that if this article were omitted, a ques- 
tion would arise whether residence were of divine right. In 
which, says the historian, they were not much deceived, 
since the legates wished to deprive the fathers of all oppor- 
tunity of discussing residence j indeed, when the theologians 
happened to touch upon the subject, as they often did, they 
were authoritatively reminded to keep to the matter before 
them*. 

The congregations now commenced; and Seripando, in 
the absence of Mantua, addressing the fathers in a suitable 
speech, directed them to digest canons of doctrine, while the 
legates turned their attention to the subject of reformation. 

The legates, however, felt the delicacy and difficulty of 
their situation, and resolved to do nothing without consulting 
his holiness. They therefore, without loss of time, despatched 
a letter to him, informing him of the state of things in the 
council, and particularly of the urgency of the fathers to 
bring on, in the first instance^ the controversy concerning re- 
sidence. They suggested, that either nothing new should 
be decreed upon the subject, since the decree published 
under Paul III was sufficient; or the whole should be 

* In quo sane non admodum illi fallebantur, omnem siquidem disceptandi 
de residentia occasionem patribus ademptam legati voluerunt, imo cum 
theologi, &c. 

r2 



244 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



referred to the will of his holiness ; or a new decree should 
be formed by the council, omitting the definition of the 
divine right, but accompanied with various penalties and 
rewards*. The legates, in the mean time, would sound the 
minds of the fathers, before they met in congregation. 
Various methods for allaying the excitation on the question 
were excogitated, and suggested to the legates. 

A report at this time prevailed, that the cardinal of Lor- 
raine and the French bishops would shortly appear at Trent. 
It was likewise reported, that the supreme pontiff was every 
day sending thither bishops from the city ; that he applied 
to the ambassador of Venice to compel ihe bishops of that 
state to repair to the council; and that he sent a cardinal 
into the kingdom of Naples enjoining him to employ eccle- 
siastical censures for the purpose of making the bishops there 
leave their country for Trent. There were persons, our author 
writes, who carped at the pontiff for sending to the synod 
bishops of inferior qualifications, as if he regarded rather 
number, than weight and value. It was likewise objected, 
that his holiness readily granted licences of absence to those 
prelates residing at Trent, who were favourable to the divine 
right, although men of eminence and merit. These, how- 
ever, are represented as uncandid and unfounded surmises. 

A letter from Rome arrived, approving the addition of 
heavier penalties to non-residence, and referring the whole 
subject of residence to the prudence of the legates. 

By the 9th of October, so much progress was made by 
the fathers, that doctrine and canons on the Sacrament of 
Order were drawn out in due and lengthened form. We 
shall understand enough of their contents by the strictures 
and observations made by different fathers upon them. 

The archbishop of Granada, perhaps rather hypercritically, 
excepted against the expression, that the inferior orders as- 
cend through the middle, since they do not ascend, but the 
cleric by them. With more weight and justice, he contended 
for the two articles which had a place under Julius III, — 
* See to the same purpose Visconti, Lett. Oct. 3 and Oct. 22, 1562. 



'1562.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



245 



the divine right of episcopacy, and the superiority of bishops 
to presbyters, since the Centuriators openly asserted, that 
presbyters were equal to bishops. Hosius here repeated, 
that this was no controversy with the heretics ; for the Con- 
fession of Augsburg asserted, that bishops were instituted by 
divine right*. The archbishop replied, if this were acknow- 
ledged by that confession, and were true, why should the 
council be ashamed to assent to it ? Another prelate ob- 
served, that the council had to do, not with the Confession of 
Augsburg alone, but with other heresies. Another, that the 
heretics asserted, that the apostles were ordained to preach, 
and nothing else. One of the fathers thought that the synod 
should be terminated as soon as possible, since many of them 
were troubled with severe catarrhs, and the adversaries were 
absent. One contended, that episcopacy should not be ex- 
cluded from order, that is, a separate one from presbyters, 
the attempt being only to distinguish them by degree. An 
endless variety of opinion was delivered by different speakers ; 
and the General of the Jesuits closed the whole, who, in 
advocating the known sentiments and interests of the papacy, 
was apprehensive that he might be suspected of having 
taken that course because his order depended upon the pon- 
tiff. Our author, however, endeavours to rescue him from 
this suspicion, and expresses his assurance that Lainez spoke 
from his honest convictions. 

The deputation of fathers was directed, in consequence 
of these discussions, to compose new doctrine and canons. 
But having laboured in vain to satisfy all parties, the legates 
endeavoured to compound, by assembling the Spaniards, 
and persuading them to make no public exhibition of their 
opposition. Their old friend, Granada, still insisted upon 
the reappearance of the clause recognizing the divine right 
of episcopacy, as under Julius III. Mantua, and afterwards 
Hosius, repeated, that nothing would be gained by such a 
determination, as it was not contested by the heretics. This 

* This, from a letter of Visconti, we learn, was preconcerted. See of the 
date of Oct. 22 } and previously one of the 18th. 



246 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



answer was not likely to satisfy the objectors, nor did it. 
When the Spaniards departed, the legates, conceiving thai 
their petition was not absurd, obtained that a canon should 
be constructed agreeable to their request, and at the same 
time equally defending the power of the pope over the bishops. 
When this canon was published, there were various opinions 
concerning it even among the Italians. Many, however, 
dissented, lest they should appear to pay respect to the 
Spaniards. Others wished the dispute to continue, because, 
having written in favour of the papal power, they hoped to 
acquire credit, and its consequences, with his holiness ; but 
they were opposed by others, who thought, that as the holy 
see possessed quiet enjoyment of supreme jurisdiction, nothing 
would be gained to it by discussion and agitation. 

It is remarkable, that Seripando, who from ill health was 
absent from the consultations on the subject, condemned the 
canon as more advantageous to the heretics than to his holi- 
ness, whose authority was too faintly recognized in it. The 
very words, divine right, were odious at Rome, where it was 
suspected, that something even further was concealed under 
them. The legates, therefore, determined upon a new and 
different form : they, however, thought better of the subject, 
and allowed the first to stand. But again, Seripando recol- 
lected the observation of Soto, that the Spaniards desired 
nothing new, but simply, that there should be no detraction 
from antient right. A fresh canon was the result. 

On the 13 th of December the cardinal of Lorraine, with 
fourteen prelates, made his entrance into Trent. After, how- 
ever, having been received in the council, and addressed it in 
a public capacity, he announced, that in future he should 
leave the affairs of his nation to the ambassadors, and sus- 
tain simply a private character, pursuing the interests of the 
country and the church. He added, that it was his and his 
countrymen's expectation, that no common thing would be 
effected in the way of reformation by the council. After the 
royal letter was read, his eminence addressed the synod in a 
long and elaborate speech, in which he lamented the preva- 



1562.] 



SESSION XXII 



247 



lence of heresy ; entered with minute detail into the alleged, 
and doubtless exaggerated, outrages of the Gallic reformers, 
carefully pretermitting those of the good Catholics, to whose 
brutal bigotry in the first instance, instigated and animated 
during its long and ruthless career by himself and his bro- 
ther, even the unjustifiable retaliations of the Huguenots 
ought, in all fairness, and in the main, to be ascribed ; and 
then sought for the remedy of these tumults in the enact- 
ments of a council, which could only attempt the remedy by 
continued or increased application of the same coercive bar- 
barity as was already adopted*. An answer was directed 
by the chief president to be made by a prelate ; which was 
accordingly done with all the courtly phraseology and pom- 
pous inanity which usually distinguish such effusions. 

The ambassador du Ferrier followed in a speech of some 
freedom and wholesome truth ; and it is remarkable for the 
well-known passage, in which the speaker, directing himself 
personally to the most holy fathers, proceeds — s Unless this,' 
the reformation recommended, f be done, it is in vain that 
' you ask us whether France be in peace ; for we shall 
' answer you as Jehu did king J or am, asking whether it were 

* Upon the frequently alleged equality of outrages in the present instance, 
I have said something in my Life and Pont, of St. Pius V, pp. 59 and fol- 
lowing, and Appendix ; and I wish to add something here. It is a common 
and compendious method of disposing of complicated historical questions to 
infer, that because there are faults on both sides, therefore the faults are 
equal. But it is hard, if in some cases truth and proportion are not a little 
plainer. I beg, therefore, in the present case, just to suggest — I. What was 
the substance of the outrages respectively ? The Huguenots chiefly demo- 
lished the images in the churches of their opponents ; those opponents 
slaughtered their persons. This is the representation of a papist. See 
Smedley's Hist, of Ref. Religion in France, vol. i, pp. 230-7. 2. Who gave 
the provocation, and what was the provocation? 3; What part did the 
Leaders take ? — which did they respectively instigate, sanction, and approve, 
or the contrary ? 4. What were, and are, the respective principles of the 
two religions ? what does each encourage, commend, justify, and com- 
mand ? These are the considerations necessary to an equitable judgment on 
the subject. The acts of the soldiery, except when proved to act under 
the influence of their leaders, are no fair subjects of criticism on either 
side. 



248 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



f peace — what hast thou to do with peace, so long as — you 
' know the rest.' 

The second form of the doctrine and canons of the sacra- 
ment of order was proposed on the 30th of October ; and 
they are transcribed by Paleotto at length. The last, or 
seventh, canon deserves to be presented to the reader ; as no 
single canon in the synod excited so hot and obstinate con- 
test among the fathers, or rather the two parties, on the 
subject into which they were divided. 

' If any one shall say, that it was not instituted by Christ 
( the Lord, that there should be bishops in the Catholic 
f Church, and that, when they are assumed by the Roman 
' pontiff, his vicar on earth, into part of his solicitude, they 
* are not true and legitimate bishops, superior to presbyters, 
' and that they do not enjoy the same dignity, and the same 
' power, which they have obtained to the present time ; let 
' him be anathema 

This canon seems by the sequel to have been, as it were, 
the standard for the preservation, seizure, or recovery of 
which the most determined efforts of the two hostile ranks 
were employed, and which repeatedly came into the pos- 
session of one or other of them, according to the fortunes 
of this theologic war. 

It is hardly possible that the reader should not have ob- 
served throughout the preceding history the extreme dread 
manifested by the pontiff of Rome at divine right any where 
but in himself. The first object of horror was the claim of 
such right, as it respected residence ; but the divine right of 
residence, and that of the episcopal order, by which it was 
to be exercised, rested precisely upon the same foundation, 

* Si qnis dixerit non fuisse a Christo Domino institutum, ut essent in 
Ecclesia Catholica Episcopi, ac eos, cum in partem sollicitudinis a Pontifice 
Romano, ejus in terris Vieario, assumuntur, non esse veros et legitimos 
Episcopos, Presbyteris superiores, et eadem dignitate, eademque potestate 
non potiri, quam ad haec usque tempora obtinuerunt: Anathema sit. It 
will be observed that I have translated as literally as possible, in order that 
there might be no misrepresentation of the meaning. 



1562.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



249 



and the latter was not in better favour than the former. 
Hence the pontifical advocates, with their client, wished to 
amalgamate the orders of bishop and presbyter in the one 
order of priest, assigning to the bishop no superiority but 
that of degree. Hence, too, the predilection for the hy- 
pothesis of a hierarchy, which, as it existed among the Jews, 
presented the alluring exemplar of a sacred society composed 
of priests and their one ruler, the high priest, alone. Xhe 
simple superiority of a Christian bishop would not satisfy 
the aim and pretensions of the bishop of Rome, because that 
superiority was shared with many. The titles of archbishop, 
patriarch, and even primate, were as little satisfactory, for 
there was a division of honour and authority in them. But 
the High Priest, on the Jewish model, or the Pontifex Maxi- 
mus, on the perhaps more familiar and cherished heathen 
one, was a title, which would answer every claim or desire, 
to its most ambitious extent, of a spiritual monarch, the one 
head of Christendom, the one successor of the chief of the 
apostles, the one Vicar of Christ. It will excite no wonder 
that the election and coronation of so august a personage 
should be transferred from the Pontificate, which puts him 
in the company of other bishops, to the Ceremoniale, which 
associates him with secular monarchs, with kings and em- 
perors. 

We return to our guide, and to the reception which he 
represents as given to the canon in its new form. Nearly 
the first, and certainly the most important, speaker upon 
the subject was the regular opponent of most of the legan- 
tine proposals. He objected principally to three things : 

1, to the assumed title Vicar of Christ, since bishops were 
successors of the apostles, and consequently vicars of Christ, 
acknowledging, however, a superior, who was vicar to them ; 

2, to the expression of bishops being called to a part of the 
pontiff's solicitude, since they ought to be represented as 
called by God ; and 3, to the contradiction to a prior 
canon, that bishops were instituted by divine right. Se- 
veral fathers followed in a similar strain. Some, of course, 



250 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



were in favour of the canon; and the archbishop of Lan- 
ciano in particular argued that the omission of the words 
' divine right' did not imply denial,, since minor truths are 
often suppressed that they may not injure major ones : as 
in the synodical prohibition of the title Christotocos applied 
to the Virgin Mary, lest it should appear to exclude that 
other of Qeoroxos-. One sagaciously enough observed, that 
it was nowhere read, that Christ instituted that there should 
be bishops, but that he created them himself. The bishop 
of Chioggia said, that as the pope was chief monarch, the 
principle of the hierarchy required, that all powers, as rivers 
from the fountain, and rays from the sun, should be derived 
from him. This prelate, who was formerly ridiculed for his 
poverty, and reprimanded for his heterodoxy, had learnt a 
new lesson. He of Conimbra objected to disputes about the 
power of the pope without his knowledge*. The Protestants 
might have claimed some benefit from this argument. The 
bishop of Modena, who was concerned in drawing up the 
form under discussion, was contented, that episcopacy should 
be declared of divine right, provided it might be added, 
by authority of the pope. There were various criticisms 
on other portions, as well as the seventh canon, although 
here was " the tug of war." Peter Danese, bishop of La 
Vaut, affirmed, that bishops were not only instituted by divine 
right, but in their own churches were equal to the Roman 
pontiff. The bishop of the five churches was desirous of 
dismissing all subtleties from the deliberations of the council, 
and declared, that to dispute about primacy and jurisdiction, 
was to deny the first principles of theology f. The bishop 
of Ostuni ventured to assert, in opposition to the repre- 
sentation, that those alone who were called by the pope were 
true bishops, that there were many true bishops of whom 
his holiness had no knowledge. The bishop of Guadix 

* ipsoinscio. 

f Disputare autem de primatu et de jurisdictioiie ; iiil aliud esse quam 
negare prima priucipiu theologies. 



1562.] 



SESSTON XXIII. 



251 



said, that there were as many points of doubt as sentences * 
in the seventh canon ; and confirming the assertion, which 
had just been uttered, he said, that the archbishop of 
Saltzburg confirmed bishops elected by the chapter, who 
were true bishops, and the same was the case in many other 
instances. 

These words produced a formidable uproar among the 
fathers, who exclaimed, that he should be heard no farther. 
Simonetta explained, that the archbishop consecrated, but 
his consecration was confirmed by the authority of the pope. 
In the mean time, other prelates reiterated the cry, Out with 
him ! out with him ! and others, Let him be anathematized ! 
to whom Guerrero turning replied, Be ye anathematized ! 
The Spanish prelate, however, never intermitted his speech, 
but amidst the clamours around him proceeded, declaring 
that the pope was the supreme vicar of God, and other 
things more palatable to the part of his audience whom he 
had so highly incensed; at the same time reprimanding 
them for not having the patience to hear him to the end. 
The cardinal of Mantua was much provoked by so inde- 
corous an exhibition; and threatened, that if it were repeated 
he should withdraw. The cardinal of Lorraine joined in 
reprobating such conduct, and was very severe on those who 
exclaimed Anathema. He trusted, that the legates would 
maintain their dignity, and that such offences would in 
future be visited with condign punishment f. The congre- 

* quot sunt ejus partes tot sunt dubia. 

f Tunc prelati hoc audientes strepitum magnum excitaverunt clamantes, 
extra non audiatur. Verum Cardinalis Simonetta subjunxit, quod Salsebur- 
gensis consecratur (sic)et confirmatur authoritate papee. Interea alii prelati 
ingeminabant clamantes, Exeat, exeat, et alii, Anathema sit : ad quos Grana- 
tensis conversus respondit, Anathema vos estis. Gadicensis vero sermonem 
nunquam intermisit, prosequens inter clamores, &c. The story of this 
riotous exhibition is given by another eye-witness -with a variation very na- 
tural in an extract from a tract on the subject of the council by the bishop of 
Salamanca, as preserved in the royal library of Madrid, and presented for the 
first time in print by Villanueva, Vida Lit. Appendix at the end of the 2d 
volume, pp. 424, 5. Simonetta declared the opinion of the offending bishop 
to be scandalous, particularly at] such a time. The riot began ; and the 



252 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



gation then proceeded ; and after some other speeches the 
bishop of Aliffi* said, that he should profess, until the synod 
determined the contrary, that bishops derived their power 
from Christ, and neither from St. Peter nor from the pope. 
He was here interrupted by the president Hosius, who said, 
that there was now no disputation concerning the power of 
the pope. Granada submitted, that liberty of speech should 
be allowed to all. The speaker continued, and claimed the 
privilege of obeying his conscience. The president com- 
plained, that many things were said foreign to the purpose, 
and that the heretics, who did "not deny the institution of 
bishops by Christ, denied the validity of those promoted by 
the pope, and that this therefore was the position to be 
refuted. The cardinal of Lorraine then, for the first time, 
took his part in the deliberations of the congregation. In a 
long speech he supported and asserted the papal jurisdiction 
and prerogative to the full ; and observed, that all the sects 
of heretics, however divided among themselves, were united 
in their hostility to the apostolic see. He, however, sug- 
gested an improvement in the seventh canon. When the 
bishops had spoken, the abbats and generals succeeded, and 
the business was at last closed. 

When an end was put, says Paleotto, to the delivery of 
the opinions of the fathers, which by their prolixity and 

patriarch of Venice called him a schismatic. Granada retorted the name. 
The narrator says of himself that he did not distinctly hear this (Yo no oi 
esto, aunque no estaba muy largo). But the uproar continuing, he raised 
himself, and said that such interruption was wrong ; that the speaker should 
be heard to the end, and then it should be determined, whether he had said 
any thing worthy of reproof or chastisement. The bishop went on quietly 
as represented, and ended with an expression of acquiescence in the cor- 
rection of the council if deserving of it. There is reason to believe that 
Paleotto's representation is the more accurate of the two ; and he could 
hardly be mistaken in the word Anathema being repeated and animad- 
verted upon by a subsequent speaker. 

* He was a Spaniard, we are told in the same extract as is referred to in the 
last note, although his bishopric was in the kingdom of Naples. The at- 
tempt was made, says this authority, to cough him down when rather ex- 
tendedly pressing the jus divinum; which was noticed by Lanssac, who 
wondered at the effect which the jus divinum had in producing catarrh. 



1562.] session xxtti. 253 

acrimony had wearied the ears of those present, the judg- 
ments and censures passed upon them were various. The 
opposition of the Spaniards was charged to their self-interest 
and ambition, although at the same time credit was given 
to them as being actuated by conscientious zeal, That of 
the French was supposed, notwithstanding demonstrations 
to the contrary, to have been encouraged by Lorraine, parti- 
cularly as it was pointedly manifested by the archbishop of 
Metz, who had been his tutor. The cardinal, however, 
laboured to exculpate himself with the legates, and said, that 
however he might err through impudence or imprudence, he 
was incapable of so disingenuous a course as that of simula- 
tion or cunning. Simonetta smiled, and taking him blandly 
by the hand, said that he had heard reports to the effect 
alluded to. The historian wonders, that the fathers should 
so unanimously and exclusively have fallen upon the point of 
Jurisdiction, which was neither proposed, nor necessary, nor 
suitable to the times, while they neglected other portion^ of 
doctrine. And hence many other things were called in 
question, which are matters of controversy, not with the here- 
tics, but among theologians and canonists, and which ought 
therefore -to have been abstained from, because they appear 
calculated only to nourish divisions and sects among the 
fathers, without any advantage*. 

The legates were mortified to find that they made no 
ground, but on the contrary got farther involved in diffi- 
culties ; they therefore consulted with the French cardinal, 
how to allay the existing controversies, and produce the 
desired harmony in the council. He proposed remodelling 
the seventh canon, which was the principal matter of discord ; 
and it was accordingly divided into two, a seventh and an 
eighth, much extended. A private consultation of confidential 
advisers was held, and it was agreed by the majority, that 
the new canons could not be adopted for several reasons, the 
second of which, a very sufficient one, was, that by them 

*. a quibus abstinendum potius erat, quod haec seditiones et sectas 

tantum inter Patres fovere, nec fructus afferre posse viderentur. 



254 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1562. 



would be condemned an infinite number of theologians and 
canonists. 

The legates in their distress applied to his holiness, who 
was in as great difficulty himself, and sent them directions 
to prorogue an announced session. Lorraine, when he came 
to know all this, was indignant, and the legates were more 
embarrassed; until at length Cardinal Borromeo advised 
them to open their minds to the Frenchman. The legates, 
not choosing to do this personally, employed some friends 
to perform the office ; and the consequence was, a fresh 
seventh canon. This canon did not please his eminence, 
and he suggested another. The mediators objected that 
this form reduced the pope to a naked instrument*. Much 
deliberation took place, and it was concluded, that the sub- 
ject should be reconsidered, and another meeting be con- 
vened. The legates, however, consult with other fathers, 
and agree, that the canon should confine itself to the pro 
po&d subject. Such was prepared ; and, short as it was, it 
provided amply for the papal prerogative. Even this did 
not pass, and another was suggested. 

While all these pains were being taken to bring the liti- 
gation on this subject to a satisfactory conclusion, a letter 
came from Rome, which threw the whole matter afresh into 
confusion. For it directed, that not only much alteration 
should be made in the old doctrine, but an eighth canon 
should be composed, amplifying, or at least confirming, the 
primacy and supreme authority of his holiness. Long anno- 
tations accompanied this communication. 

The legates, convinced that if such a canon should be 
proposed, it would be the signal for fresh and more aggra- 
vated dissensions, concluded, with the advice of many fathers, 
that it would be better to state the case to his holiness than 
rashly to excite these new tragedies f . After consulting? 
however, with the Cardinal of Lorraine, who promised to 
assist them, they agreed, with some of the fathers, to present 

* nudum instrumentum. 

f — quam novas hasce tragedias temere excitare. 



1563] 



SKSSION XXIII. 



255 



a threefold form of the seventh canon, with the addition of 
an eighth. Seripando considered this a happy opportunity 
of restoring concord and tranquillity, if it were not allowed 
to slip. They were, however, deceived in their reliance upon 
the professed assistance of the French cardinal, but they 
resolved to bear their disappointment with equanimity. 
The French prelates were offended at the introduction of 
the terms, ' the universal church/ in such a connexion as to 
imply the superiority of the pope to a council. This em- 
broiled the French with the Portuguese fathers, who were 
devoted to the papal prerogative. In the midst of these per- 
plexities, which rather increased, the legates were informed 
from Rome, that if matters could not otherwise be quieted^ 
for the words e the universal church' might be substituted f the 
universal churches.' Another attempt, to settle the endless, 
but not irrational or unaccountable, controversy respecting 
the institution and authority of bishops, was made by the 
Cardinal of Lorraine, and a new fifth chapter of doctrine, 
with a new seventh canon, was composed by him. But this 
measure failed, and the legates sent a statement of their 
difficulties again to his holiness. They were transmitted in 
April of the year 1563. 

At this time happened the deaths of two of the legates, 
the Cardinal of Mantua and Seripando. This double stroke 
interrupted the progress of the attempted pacification, as it. 
was judged proper to wait the arrival of the new legates, 
who, it was understood, were chosen. These were Cardinals 
Morone * and Navagero. Sanguine hopes of a favourable 
result, from this change of circumstances, was entertained. 
But the difference respecting jurisdiction had struck its roots 

* In an important extract from the MS. and unpublished Life of Martin 
Perez de Ayala, extant in the Royal Library of Madrid, and presented by 
Villanueva, in the Appendix to his Vida Literaria, Cardinal Morone is cha- 
racterized as hombre cloblado, (torn, ii., p. 420.) which, says the Rev. Blanco 
White, a good judge, signifies literally ' a double man ;' but, he adds, 4 the 
Spanish phrase is very strong, and means dark and treacherous.' Pract. 
and Int. Evid., &c. second edition, p. 326. The character given of him, 
and acts ascribed to him, even by Paleotto,. justify this representation. 



256 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563, 



so deeply, that, instead of being diminished, it increased 
daily, particularly by the means of private meetings." 

It is really waste of time and labour to pursue any 
farther a controversy which yet, in our original, occupies 
many future pages, and of which enough has been related 
to show that it was a contest between encroaching and 
tenacious tyranny on one hand, and a resistance on the part 
of those subject to it, resolute and persevering indeed, but 
neutralized and enfeebled by a recognition of its animating 
principle. Suffice it to observe, that the result was, as usual, 
a newly-formed seventh canon, which anathematizes those 
who assert that bishops, assumed by the authority of the 
Roman pontiff, are not instituted by Christ, but are papal 
masks, or a human figment, &c* 

Paleotto was employed to send an account of what was 
done to Rome, which he did, adding, by way of explanation 
of the name of Rector, or Ruler, subjoined to that of Pastor, as 
applied to the pontiff, that it was adopted as a contradiction of 
the opinion of the heretics, who refused the title to his holiness. 
Great hopes were cherished that now a total end was put to 
the perpetual dissensions which had prevailed, when, hardly 
had the messenger left Trent, before it was found that nei- 
ther of the two opponent parties were pleased — the Italians, 
as thinking that too much power was given to the bishops, 
and too little to the pope ; the Spaniards, as thinking pre- 
cisely the contrary. It was, therefore, after further consul- 
tation among the heads of the council, agreed, that canons 
should be constructed purely with reference to the sacrament 
of order, without any thing concerning jurisdiction. And so, 
a fourth chapter of doctrine, and Canons vi., vii., and viii., 
were composed in the form in which they were adopted in 
the session. 

On the 6th of July there was a meeting previously to a 
general congregation, to explore and adjust matters ; and 
although disputation was not wanting, it was conducted more 

* larvas papales, seu figmentum humanum, &c. 



1563] 



SESSION XXIII. 



257 



temperately than usual. Some friends of the papal pre- 
rogative wished that the pontiff should be recognized as 
chief hierarch*. 

While this attempt to settle disputed matters was being 
made in a private congregation, news arrived from Rome 
that the plan was disapproved, even by the Cardinal of Lor- 
raine, which did not much surprise the legates. But every 
one was surprised that the persons, whom his holiness con- 
sulted at Rome, should betray so much ignorance, as they 
appeared by their annotations to do, concerning the real 
difficulty of the case, which they altogether neglected, 
pressing a point which they might know could never be car- 
ried, when the question proposed to them was in what way, 
that point being omitted, the rights of their most holy lord 
could be secured. To that they answered not a word; and 
the author adds, that he had heard it said by most learned 
men that the doctrine ought to have been received by their 
party, and that, by neglecting to do so, they lost an admi- 
rable opportunity of corroborating, for perpetuity, the autho- 
rity of his holiness against the heretics. But what — rather 
correcting himself — what w r ould it have availed, since the 
separatists pay no respect to councils or fathers, or the most 
convincing reasons, much less to the authority of the su- 
preme pontiff? 

After this a general congregation was convened for the 
purpose, if possible, of composing the storm of minds, and 
fixing a day for the so often prorogued session. Morone 
opened it with a grave oration suitable to the circumstances. 
And the historian exults, that it pleased the Divine clemency 
to excite in the minds of the fathers such a spirit of peace 
and concord, that, to the great joy of all, they at length 
almost unanimously agreed in the main points, although 
there were some exceptions, which are specified. 

On the next day the ambassador of the Spanish king 
pleaded for having the hierarchy said to be instituted by 

* tanquam summo hierarcha. 

S 



258 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



Christ, the words divine ordination appearing too general, 
with other things tending to revive the old disputes. The 
Spanish hostility was therefore reckoned upon ; and it was 
thought that, at the session, the Spaniards would either 
absent themselves or protest. Answers were accordingly 
prepared. 

But behold, proceeds the historian, by the benignity of 
the Most High God, it came to pass, that shortly after the 
termination of the congregation, the Spaniards assembled 
at the ambassador's, and considering the matter more ma- 
turely, signified, in the name of the whole nation, to the 
legates, that they would not dissent at the session, on two 
conditions ; firstly, that at the close of the council, when the 
heretics are condemned, those should be included who denied 
bishops to be instituted by Christ, and likewise those who 
do not admit the primary and supreme authority of the chief 
pontiff. With the Spaniards the French concurred; and thus, 
under God, the discords terminated, and the doctrine and 
canons were received in the form in which they now stand. 

Some time before this, the pontiff was meditating to take 
up his residence with his court at Bologna, in order that he 
might be nearer the council *. The legates sent him word, 
that the cardinal of Lorraine and the French were well 
affected towards the apostolic see ; and Lanssac added, that 
he had no doubt of the good will of his holiness, but that 
he had bad advisers about him, and that it would be pru- 
dent, in obedience to the times, to remit a portion of his 
right, in order that he might retain the rest entire. 

About the same time, while the council was engaged in 
public religious service, as the author carefully observed, 
news was received of a victory of the French king over the 
Huguenots. They immediately repaired to the cathedral 
and sang a Te Deum f. 

* See likewise among the letters of the legates, March 8, 1563. 
T This is somewhere referred to by Visconti, but with no new circum- 
stances. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



259 



The French ambassadors^ who had it in commission from 
their king to present to the synod a paper on restitution of 
manners, comprehending thirty- four chapters, delivered 
them to the legates; and the whole of them appear in 
Paleotto. They are, of course, generally good, and were 
much needed. 

The legates, although the chapters were felt to contain 
particulars rather severe and incommodious to the Roman 
court, thought it right to transmit them to his holiness. 
A little after came intelligence rather unexpectedly from 
Rome, of the election of two cardinals, the one eighteen and 
the other eleven years of age. At a time when so general a 
clamour was raised against such acts, the legates were 
distressed that his holiness should manifest so little regard, 
if not to decorum, to prudence. 

In the course of the foregoing proceedings the question 
of Residence was resumed. Taking up the subject from 
the beginning, our author inserts a decree proposed relative 
to it. This, like the other productions of the synod, under- 
went alterations, which it is not of adequate importance 
even to describe. 

When it came to be debated, Lorraine took the lead. 
He began by enlarging upon the solemn responsibility of 
those who assumed the office of pastors in the church of 
Christ; and while his observations on the proposal were 
generally laudatory, there were some points upon which he 
demurred, particularly the specified causes of absence. 
Granada, as was to be expected, insisted upon the divine 
right, as the true remedy of the existing evils. One said, 
with perhaps juster and further application than he in- 
teiided* that he did not understand their doctrine who 
acknowledged that the Lord commanded bishops to feed 
the flock, but not in what manner they were to be fed. 
Some objected to the punishments denounced against 
non-residence, others against the rewards, or that there 
should be any reward at all, for performing a plain and 
urgent duty. The bishop of Recanata said, that he had 

s 2 



260 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



been a constant resident in his church, not having been 
absent from it fourteen days; and he wished the fathers 
would do their best, that they should not be obliged to 
perform a perpetual residence at Trent ; as well as have 
the speeches shortened, remembering that in the mean 
time churches were suffering, and that there were vicarial 
offices enough*.. The speeches of the abbats and generals 
close the very extended report, in which nothing which is 
not obvious, and nothing which is new or important, occurs. 
The two subjects of order and residence are so nearly iden- 
tical, that the arguments respecting both are almost repe- 
titions of each other. In fact, the whole controversy on 
both subjects, which would otherwise almost want a motive 
and existence, may be resolved into the arrogant preten- 
sions of the Roman pontiff and a feeling of common equity 
on the part of his subjects. We could approve the zeal 
and firmness of those who contended in behalf of residence, 
if the consideration did not force itself upon us, of the effect 
of the performance of their pastoral duties in true sons of 
the Roman church, and of the substance and quality of the 
food which they must impart to their flocks. When we 
reflect, that this may most comprehensively and indulgently 
be described, as consisting of almost any thing in the way of 

* Of one speech some account may be given for the sake of nationality, 
if for nothing else. It is one of an Irish bishop ; but which of the three, 
who were all made by Pius IV, and came to Trent on the same day, our 
author does not say. This prelate objected to the clause forbidding prelates 
to be in the councils of princes ; for, said he, but for the contrary, religion 
would be annihilated in many kingdoms. In queen Mary's time, he adds, 
there was a contest at the council board between two rival bishops, claim- 
ants of the same see, the one a catholic, the other a heretic. The first 
pleaded that his adversary should be deprived, because he had obtained the 
see* from a schismatic king, Henry VIII ; upon which he was judged 
guilty of treason. Hear me, he replied : if Henry was a catholic, the con 
sequence is necessary, that the queen is a schismatic ; or the contrary ; 
choose which you like best. Upon this he was acquitted and obtained the 
bishopric. He opposed the clause additionally, because the heretics would 
say, that such bishops as took a share in the councils of princes were 
chargeable with mortal sin, as the Polish ambassador had affirmed. 



1563,] 



SESSION XXIII. 



261 



doctrine,, exclusive of the cardinal doctrines of Christianity, 
and that a jealousy in all cases, and an enmity in very 
many, against the unfettered perusal of the sacred scrip- 
tures, is the most conspicuous and disgraceful blot upon the 
face of Romanism, the image of even a well-meaning, 
zealous, and laborious prelate or pastor of the church of 
Rome will be contemplated with a sigh. 

The varieties and dissensions among the speakers on this 
subject embarrassed the legates; and they proposed, with 
the consent of the fathers, which was readily given, to choose 
a committee who should assist in bringing a contest, the 
sound of which had gone forth throughout Christendom, to 
a desirable termination. When the deputation met to 
make a new decree, they were warmly opposed by the first 
speaker of their number, who insisted that the decree on 
Residence, under Paul III, was sufficient. Lorraine re- 
plied, that the present was nearly the same. However, 
both the proemium and the penalty of mortal sin were 
generally disapproved, and the congress became a scene 
of idle altercation. The legates, perceiving that the divi- 
sion of sentiment respecting the divine right rendered the 
proemium a matter of contention, with the flexible policy so 
well understood by the Romish church, determined to alter 
it so as to contradict neither opinion : but, as was done 
respecting baptism in the council of Vienna, respecting the 
conception of the Virgin in the Tridentine, and lately, in 
the same, respecting communion in both kinds, they re- 
solved to steer an ambiguous course, and thus preclude a 
collision. A new form was constructed on this principle. 
Lorraine was afraid that the entire omission of the di- 
vine right would render this unacceptable ; which produced 
another form. This occasioned fresh dissatisfaction, and 
the cardinal himself furnished a third. Even this did not 
answer; and the author conceived it to be a point of 
honour as dear to him as his life, not to allow any alter- 
ation. There was a good deal of negotiation to compose 
these differences, which ended in a fresh meeting; and the 



262 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



Jesuit Lainez recomm ended , that as the question lay only 
among the catholics, the decree which might be interpreted 
by both parties in their own way was to be preferred*. 
Minor portions had been forgotten in the absorbing interest 
of the main question. But, as usual, when that was settled, 
the former attracted some attention ; and it was thought, 
that the inferior pastors were treated rather severely. 

To retrograde with our author to the month of January, 
the bishop of the five churches put the legates in some 
alarm by preparing to visit the emperor, who was then at 
Inspruck ; and they were anxious that he should impress 
upon the mind of his majesty a favourable view of the council. 
About the same time the council heard from Visconti, who 
had just returned from Rome f, that his holiness was sedu- 
lously employed in reforming his court, and left the affairs - 
of the council to the prudence of the legates. The ambas- 
sador of the Duke of Savoy was likewise received, heard, 
and answered. At the beginning of February there was a 
public discussion respecting a session, the prorogation of 
which disappointed the expectations of the world; and it 
was finally agreed, that it should take place on the 22d of 
April; the intervening space to be occupied in finishing 
what was in hand, and even entering upon the abuses of 
order, and the sacrament of matrimony. Articles on the 
last subject were communicated to the theologians, whose 
first employment was, to quarrel about precedence; the 
Spanish not being disposed to yield to the French. Hence 
the necessity of new regulations, from which, however, Sal- 
meron, as the pope's theologian, was exempted, as a mark 
of respect towards his holiness ; and he was to be allowed the 
honour of the opening speech in the congregations. This 
matter, however, was referred to the next session. 

About this time a letter was received by the synod from 

* deeretum se laudare ita dispositum, ut ejus verba pie satis in 

utramque partem possint exponi. 

f This, it appears, from the letters of the legates, was the beginning of 

February. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



263 



the French king ; and on its delivery the ambassador, du 
Ferrier, addressed the fathers, urging that the council should 
not only make decrees, but provide for their execution. And 
Lorraine followed, pressing the same point, if France was to 
be delivered from its existing miseries. 

On the 2d of March the death of the principal legate, the 
Cardinal of Mantua, took place, after a very short illness. 
His age was 56. The historian expresses himself in high 
terms of the merits and services of this president, and of the 
regret occasioned by his loss*. 

The bishop of the five churches had now returned from 
the emperor, representing, that his majesty, from disgust at 
the delays and contentions of the synod, had proposed to 
meet his holiness personally at Trent, and see what they 
could do together. Meanwhile the bishop of Viterbo from 
Rome announced how diligently his holiness was employed 
in reformations at home, intrusting the conduct of the 
council entirely to the legates. On this the legates redoubled 
their exertions ; when in the midst of them they were visited 
with another infliction in the illness, which soon proved fatal, 
of a second legate, Cardinal Seripando. Before that final 
event, however, another message of death was confirmed, 
nearly affecting the council, that of the Duke of Guise, 
brother to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who was assassinated, 
it was reported^, by a private soldier, in order to ingratiate 
himself with Admiral Coligny, and particularly by the per- 
suasion of Theodore Beza, the heresiarch, who proclaimed, 
that those who were concerned in the fact would, by this 
means, acquire celestial gloryj. This is an additional instance 

* Mention is made of the death of the chief legate in the Letters of Vis- 
conti, March 4, 1563. The physicians were not aware of the fever, and 
treated the disease wrong. 

f dicebatur. See likewise Visconti, March 9, who repeats nothing 

of the report. 

j Giulio Poggiano delivered an oration on the occasion of the duke's 
assassination, on the 29th of March, 1563, in the pope's chapel, to a large 
audience of cardinals, &c. It is in the usual style, and speaks of Beza in 
the following manner. The assassin, he says, awed by the authority of 



264 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



of the calumnious trash, invented, received, and propagated, 
in perfect harmony with the spirit and acts of a system, of 
which one of the most deplorable effects is, the scarcely re- 
sistible necessity under which it places its true subjects of 
violating truth, in every varying way and degree. 

A serious tumult, arising from a quarrel among the ser- 
vants of the different nations, threatened consequences dan- 
gerous to the peace of the city. While the legates and 
ambassadors were taking measures to restore tranquillity, the 
disease of Seripando ended fatally. He died on the 17th of 
March. The event put all into consternation, not only on 
account of the loss of an individual in such a station, and of 
singular erudition, prudence, and religion, but because two 
heads of the council being thus taken off with a stroke, at the 
distance of only fifteen days, it appeared like a mark of divine 
displeasure ; and many augured ill of the affairs of the council 
in consequence. The writer, who was a personal friend of the 
president, and present at a part of the reading of his testa- 
ment, enlarges on his pious behaviour during the time, par- 
ticularly in taking the Eucharist on his knees, although in a 
state of great debility. In the extended discourses which he 
held, under a perfect consciousness of his impending dissolu- 
tion, one of his declarations was, that, in the Eucharist, he 
not only had never doubted, but was never tempted to doubt, 
that the true body of Christ was contained. He conversed 
with great fervour of the glory of the future state, and 
added, that he had lived seventy years to little purpose, if 

the duke, repented, and returned the hire of the crime ; but, adds the ora- 
tor, quod gladiatoris natura non tulit, non persuasit pecunia, Bezae religio 
probavit : is autem est Beza, homo ignotissimus genere, sed venditione 
sacerdotii, vitaeque turpi tudine, nunc etiam, qua bestias vicit, feritate 
nobilis ; qui, condemnatus in Gallia nefariorum facinorum, unum habuit 
perfugium castra ista praeclara : &c. Really, when our people are accused, 
we examine and justify them if we fairly can : if not, we condemn them, 
in proportion to the offence; and, if it be nefarious, give them up. But 
such gratuitous and rhodomontade slander as Poggiano's, and that of 
Romanists in general, is too contemptible for notice. Poggiani, Epp. iii. pp. 
269, et seqq. See the case fairly and ably stated in Smedley's Hist, of Ref. 
in France, vol. i., pp. 259—269. 



1563.] 



SESSION XX11I. 



265 



he had it then to learn how to die. All this is very possible, 
and no protestant need be tempted to deny or attenuate 
either possibility or fact. On the supposition of sufficient 
and excusable inconsistency, the charity of the professor of 
a purified Christianity is not defective in the judgment 
formed respecting those who die in external communion 
with a church, which he justly condemns as in its nature 
poisoning the true doctrine of salvation by mixing with it 
that which is false. If her members escape the false, it is, 
in a very different sense from that in which they are taught 
to understand the expression, < so as by fire.'* In his last 
will, of which an account is given, the legate directs that his 
burial should be private. Other particulars are of little in- 
terest, except that which relates to the disposal of the here- 
tical books, which, by the permission of the chief pontiff, 
for the use of the council, he had in his possession : these he 
commands to be all immediately burned j. And so, doubt- 

* It is remarkable, that in this account of the last hours of Seripando, no 
mention or allusion is made to extreme unction — to the image of a crucifix 
— to invocation of saint, angel, or even the deified Virgin ; nor even to 
confession or absolution. The system of Veron and Bossuet seems to have 
been present by anticipation to the mind of the auditor ; and he, or his 
subject, had the prudence to pare down popery to something like true Chris- 
tianity, and with purer motives than those of the modern dissemblers. 
What the cardinal meant by the true body of Christ in the Eucharist may 
likewise admit of doubt. If he had not, some others of his communion have 
had doubts about the corporal conversion, or the identity of the body on the 
cross, and the sacramental bread. Let their Confessions speak. Visconti 
mentions the death of this legate, April 14, 1563. Individuals of the 
Romish communion sometimes attempt to be even with protestants in 
their charitable opinion of the latter. But they hardly reflect that they do 
so at the expense of an argument in favour of their religion, which some 
of them much value. For they say, protestants admit that we may live 
and die safely in our religion, while we stoutly deny that this can be the 
case with them. In common prudence, therefore, our religion ought to 
be preferred as the safest. And so it ought, if the opinion of these indi- 
viduals, with their church and its head at their back, were worth a straw. 
We do not reject or blame their creed for its uncharitableness — there is 
no want of charity in truth — but for its sheer and palpable falsehood. 

t quos apud se, permittente summo pontifice, concilii causa habebat, 

mandavit omnes statim comburi. 



266 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



less, went to the flames many of the pious and salutary pro- 
ductions of Luther and Melancthon, and Zuingle and Calvin, 
and Bucer, full of medicines which would have healed Baby- 
lon, if she would have been healed. 

The legates, under the present diminution of their num- 
ber, resolved to suspend all important affairs until the arri- 
val of the new legates. They favoured, likewise, the plan of 
a meeting of the pope and the emperor at Bologna ; and it 
was supposed that the council might be transferred thither, 
at all events, that the emperor might there receive the sa- 
cred crown from the hands of his holiness — a ceremony 
which, if once intermitted, might through the prevalence of 
heresy never be repeated*. 

While the legates were employing the fathers in minor 
affairs, news from Rome arrived, that the new legates were 
not only fixed upon, but on their journey. They were, as 
we have said before, the cardinals Giovanni Morone and 
Bernardo Navagero. The first arrived, and was received 
with great pomp on the 10th of April ; the other, taking 
Venice in his way, reached Trent a few days after. 

Morone was publicly admitted into the synod on the 13th, 
and addressed the fathers in a grave and suitable speech. 
Beginning with the motives of his present holiness for con- 
voking the council afresh, he painted in strong colours the 
turbulence and calamities of the times. The tendency of 
his address, however, was pacific ; and he recommended 
union even with all the adversaries, as far as was consistent 
with piety and the dignity of the apostolic see. He then 
went to the emperor at Inspruck unattended, that he might 
discourse of the affairs of the council with more openness. 

At this time died the celebrated Dominican, Soto, who 
left in writing some admonition respecting the council. 

The session, in consequence of the change in the council, 
was again prorogued. Morone was prevented returning to 
Trent by an attack of the gout. 

About this time were received letters from the Queen of 

* On this subject see Visconti, Lett. March 0. It is likewise in Aymon. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



267 



Scots,, in which, lamenting the calamities of the times, she 
apologized for not sending, since she was not able, ambas- 
sadors to the council, assuring it, however, of her perpetual 
devotion to the holy see. There accompanied the letter to 
the council, one to the pontiff, and another to her uncle, the 
Cardinal of Lorraine. The council answered hers to it ; and 
when the former was read, the French cardinal added in a 
speech much concerning the origin and birth of Mary, and 
the favourable demonstrations of the two pontiffs, Clement 
VII and Paul III, towards her, decreeing to her, not only 
all the dignity belonging to Anglican princes, but the title 
of defender of the church. He subjoined other things of the 
state of that kingdom, and of the best will of the queen 
towards the catholic religion and the holy synod*. When 
Morone returned from Inspruck, it appeared that both pro- 
jects of the meeting of the emperor and his holiness, either 
at Trent or at Bologna, were impracticable ; but he learnt 
on his visit, that many things favourable to reformation and 
the affairs of the synod had been determined at Rome. 
Several matters concerning absence and the admission of 
proxies were then discussed. 

The pacification of the French king with the Huguenots 
occasioned at this time great distress to the council ; and it 
was thought expedient, that a president of the Royal Trans- 
alpine senate should explain and justify it j. 

Then another affair occurred of some interest, if not im- 
portance, to this country. Quickly after, writes Paleotto, 

* Turn alia de rerum statu illius regni, optimaque reginae erga catholicam 
religionem, ac sanctam synodum voluntate subjunxit. Sarpi ascribes to her 
letter to the council, the declaration — commemorata la successione sua, ch' 
aspettava nel Regno d' Inghilterra, promettava che, come fusse seguita, 
havrebbe sottomesso 1' uno e 1' altro di quei Regni all' obedienza della sede 
Apostolica. Lib. vii., near the end. The letter to the council is in Servantio 
and Le Plat, as well as the answer ; but no such sentence appears. But it 
is not impx-obable, that so natural a one occurred either in the letter to her 
uncle, or in his speech, as he was instructed. There is mention of Mary's 
letter in Visconti, May 4, 15G3. It is likewise in Aymon. 

f Visconti, June 3, speaks of it as better than it might have been. 



268 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563, 



there happened another consultation. For the theologians of 
Louvain were urgent with the legates, that the Queen of 
England should by the synod be declared both schismatic 
and heretic : since by letters from the English catholic 
bishops, many of whom were in prison, instructions had 
come to that purpose, they thinking that it would greatly 
advance the interests of that country, because then they 
hoped that the efforts of catholic princes to expel that pest 
from those regions would be more sharply stimulated. The 
affair appeared to require very mature consideration before 
it should be communicated to his holiness and his imperial 
majesty, as there was reason to fear, lest after the promulga- 
tion of such a declaration the queen might be more furiously 
intent upon the destruction of the catholics*. We have had 
something nearly identical with this before ; but repetition is 
history, and in the present instance emphatic. This appli- 
cation of the right reverend rebels and traitors was made, be 
it well observed, during that period of the first part of the 
reign of the British queen, which is admitted by Romanists 
themselves to have been one of comparative clemency towards 
their own communion. During this very period, they con- 
tinue their efforts and intrigues to overthrow the religion and 
government of their country; and it is deemed passing 
strange, that the sovereign and rulers of that country should 

* Theologi Lovanienses a legatis summopere contendebant, ut Regina 
Angliae tanquam schismatica et haeretica a synodo declararetur, quod ita per 
literas ab episcopis Anglis catholicis admoniti essent, quorum etiam multi 
captivi detinebantur, existimantes ii valde hoc Regni illius rationibus pro- 
futurum, cum ita catholicorum principum studia sperarent ad pestem illam 
ex iis locis propulsandam acrius posse inflammari. Res visa fuit maturo 
accurate (sic) consilio evolvenda priusquam S mo - D. N. ac Csesareae majestati 
communicanda, etenim suspicio erat, ne declaratione hac adversus Reginam 
promulgata, ilia acerbius multo usque in necem catholicorum efferata saeviret. 
His holiness was not entitled to much thanks for his forbearance, accord- 
ing to the representation of Milledoni, whom we have not often found it 
necessary to refer to. He writes : Havera sua santita dato ordine al con- 
cilio, che procedessero contro la Reina d' Inghilterra, ma intendendo, che 
questo dispiaceria grandamente all' Imperatore revoco tal ordine. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



269 



execute any severity, when nothing but severity would avail, 
in order to preserve it*. It is observable, too, that the re- 
pugnance expressed to commit the council in the interference 
applied for, is grounded on considerations, not of morality, 
but of prudence. The question is not, how shall we do this 
great wickedness ; but how will it succeed if we do it? 

The day of the next session was fixed for the 15th of 
July, and this was destined to be a real session. 

At this point the historian prepares his reader for some- 
thing great. Nothing, he writes, from the commencement 
of the council brought the Christian republic into greater 
danger than the action which he was about to record. He 
means the contest for dignity of place between the Spanish 
and French ambassadors, which he details with some pro- 
lixity ; indeed, he was himself a party. It appears by the 
statement, that the king of Spain had won the pope's heart 
away from the king of France, by having cleared his king- 
dom of heresy, which yet held up its head with authority in 
that of the latter. The queen mother was suspected to favour 
it. His holiness, therefore, by letter to the council, deter- 
mined to give equal honour in the public meetings to the 
Spanish with the French ambassador. The legates were 
violently discomposed. They hoped that the Count de Luna 
would abstain from attendance, when the contest would be 
brought to some issue ; but the count would not. The mass 
was begun. The Spaniard had a place appointed to him 
apart. The Cardinal of Lorraine inquired what w T as to be 
done in offering the thurible and the pax. The legates to 
whom he addressed himself muttered something, and re- 
ferred him to Morone. Pacification was not effected. The 
count insisted upon the execution of the pontiff's directions. 
The legates and others retire to the sacristy to settle matters. 

* He who would form a just opinion upon this rather important subject, 
should read Watson's Important Considerations. Stillingfleet and others 
thought them important ; and they are as important in the reign of William 
IV, as they were in that of James II. A papal king with a protestant 
government, are not more dangerous to true Christianity than a protestant 
king with a papal government. 



270 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



When the sermon was begun, Lorraine and the ambassadors 
showed the legates the directions of their king, that if any 
thing was innovated in this affair, they should immediately 
depart, and renounce obedience to Pius IV ; and they added 
other expressions full of bitter complaint. The archbishop 
of Granada was afraid this scene would get abroad to the 
great annoyance of his catholic majesty. The count still 
adhered to his requisition, that the thurible should be pre- 
sented to him according to the prescript of the most holy 
one ; and said that he had no fear of the Gallic fury and 
threats*. The legates were about to yield, when a con- 
sultation took place between Simonetta and the auditor, who 
strongly deprecated a proceeding which would bring ruin on 
his holiness. Great terror of the consequences prevailed 
among the fathers ; and they exerted themselves to avert so 
great a calamity^. At length it pleased the divine clemency 
to effect deliverance by means of the expedient of altogether 
omitting the offering the thurible and pax to the legates 
themselves in the sacred services, and even on the day of 
session. And thus in a short time the whole perilous contest 
was set at rest J. 

Without meaning to question the necessity of order and 
respect to rank in large meetings of the description here 
concerned, the representation just given by an unexception- 
able pen may serve to prove, that the holy synod has not 
been greatly calumniated by protestants; and that the 
secularity and postponement of divine to human things, 
which they have ascribed to it, has not been their invention. 

The abuses of order came next under the consideration 
of the fathers. The Cardinal of Lorraine suggested four 
additional points, of inconsiderable importance, under this 
head. There was a delegation of fathers appointed for the 
general subject ; and they drew up an extended outline of 

* — - — nihil se furores Gallicos aut minas vereri. 
f tantam clad em. 

X See on this affair Visconti, Lett. Jun. ult. Jul. 1, in Poliza. They are 
in Aymon likewise. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



27 L 



a decree, consisting of fourteen chapters, and a long append- 
age concerning seminaries and schools. This, of course, had 
to encounter the criticisms of the general congregations. 
The whole system of the Roman hierarchy, or ecclesiastical 
policy, is a congeries of abuses j and it would be as useless 
as endless to particularize the complicated and multifarious 
machinery of the papal system in this part of its consti- 
tution. The speeches of the fathers, therefore, although 
minutely and elaborately reported, offer almost nothing of 
real value or interest. The Cardinal of Lorraine employed 
the two first days by giving line to his own eloquence, which 
is applauded. The other fathers followed in due order; 
and there is no break in the monotonous insipidity, until we 
come to the bishop of Cava, who, speaking of the seminary, 
says, that he was obliged to repeat what he had before 
observed in the council under Paul III, with the knowledge 
and approbation of many present, that, in the monasteries, 
they gave the highest degrees to those who read the scho- 
lastic doctors, Thomas, Scotus, Gregory, and others ; but 
that those who read the scripture were treated as inferiors : 
whence, he adds, it is no wonder that there is a deficiency 
of those who understand the sacred volume, since it is 
neglected. The order therefore ought to be reversed ; the 
principal study should be that of the scripture ; and the 
scholastic doctors should follow*. There is hardly such 
another Oasis in the whole desert, although the speech 
of the bishop of Ostuni is, I presume, from its supposed 
merit, transcribed at full length; and lengthy enough it is. 
The abbats and generals brought, up the rear, and Lainez 
figured the last, not least, and full of flattery to the au- 
thority of the chief pontiff j\ 

The opinions of the fathers being brought to a close, since 
many severe reflections were made in the course of them 
upon the Roman court, the legates found it expedient to 

* Igitur mutetur hie ordo, ut in monasteriis prsecipua opera sit circa 
acripturam sacram, deinde circa scholastieos doctores. 

f Cumque hie summi Pontificis auctoritatem vehementius extolleret, &c. 



272 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



meet them with the utmost dexterity and prudence ; for 
they recollected the speech of the bishop of Verdun, who 
was taunted with the pun, How the cock crows * ! and who 
was defended in the following words by another Frenchman, 
e I wish that at the crowing of this cock Peter would go 
' out and weep bitterly.' All,, indeed, proceeds the historian, 
were witnesses of the licence and maledicence of the French, 
so much so, that it was bitterly remarked, that the synod 
has fallen from the Spanish to the French disease f. The 
legates exerted themselves to acquire a better disposition 
towards the council; and, as usual, employed certain fathers 
to compound and methodize the varying opinions which had 
been delivered. After many meetings they drew up a form 
under the title of Annotations. These were presented to 
the general congregation, and through the fervid prayers 
offered for their success, and the infinite clemency of God, 
(so our author speaks,) they were agreed to with a very few 
dissentients, in a meeting which lasted for six hours. 

At length the 15th of July arrived, and the session was 
not prorogued, but celebrated. It is observed, however, 
that in the mass, neither the pax nor the thurible were ad- 
ministered, in order to avoid the controversies respecting 
superiority of place. The decrees and canons were read, and 
the 16th of September announced for the ensuing session. 
To the former there were only eleven who made objections, 
those principally turning upon the divine right. The latter 
passed unanimously. Due thanks were returned by the 
legates for this rather unexpected result. 

Neither the decrees nor the canons are particularly de- 
serving of specification or criticism, for reasons which have 
appeared. Sacrifice and priesthood united are by the 
order of God ; different orders are appointed in the church ; 
grace is conferred by the sacrament ; an indelible character 

* Quam multa Gallus iste cantat ! The pun cannot be preserved in a 
translation. 

f ex Hispanica scabie in morbum Gallicum incidisse. This offen- 
sive comparison is found noticed in a letter of Visconti, Dec. 6, 1562. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



273 



is imprinted. The canons are to the same purpose. The 
three last are diluted from those which occasioned so much 
acrimonious dissension. The chapters under the head of 
abuses, are generally obvious, and not very important, regu- 
lations. The conclusion respecting seminaries is perhaps 
the least unimportant. 

The numbers given as present by Servantio are simply — 
four legates, two cardinals, twenty-nine ambassadors*. Le 
Plat has exhibited no list at all. But there must have been 
about the usual number of prelates and others f. 

From the paucity of references to the letters of Visconti 
and the legates, it would hardly be inferred, that they so 
minutely repeat, and so powerfully corroborate, as they are 
found to do, the narrative of Paleotto. But it was thought 
best to let the historian tell his own tale without inter- 
ruption, with the present general remark in explanation. 
To have incorporated the two representations of transactions 
which were in so great a proportion uninteresting would 
have been an irksome, if not impracticable, attempt ; and of 
no remuneration, if successful, adequate to the labour. 
There are, however, particulars in the letters, more or less 
connected with the history over which we have been travel- 
ling, of too much interest or curiosity to be altogether 
omitted : they are therefore exhibited in this separate 
manner. 

In the letter of the Nuncio, dated the 22d of October, 
1562, and which is a very long one, besides the agreement, 
that Hosius should interrupt Granada if he trespassed upon 
the forbidden ground of divine right, as has been already 
noted, the writer begins a fresh ciphered part, with observ- 
ing, that there were many prelates, who in different ways 

* This must be a mistake for nineteen ; for that is the entire number 
of the ambassadors given by Le Plat, as attending during the last meeting 
of the council. 

| Visconti, in his account of the session, lett. July 15, says there were 
220 votes, 208 of which were prelates, (vescovi.) 

T 



274 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



spread a report of the suspension of the council,, some say- 
ing that the abbat of Manna sought it in the name of 
France, and that the emperor desired in particular that his 
holiness should do it without mentioning that the princes 
wished for it. This, it is added, would be a good pretence 
for finishing the council. His holiness certainly was in 
trepidation all the while the council was sitting ; and these 
reports had doubtless some foundation. 

There is a passage in the letter of the 16th of Novem- 
ber, remarkable, as ascertaining the fidelity of quotation 
in the fathers. It happens sometimes, writes Visconti, that 
the prelates in congregation, for the purpose of supporting 
their opinions cite various passages in writings, which after- 
wards are not found to be faithful, or, if they are, it is seen, 
that they allege solely that part which makes for their pur- 
pose ; as it happened in the case of the bishop of Modena, 
who, when he gave his vote, cited some passages of the 
councils, which really were not found there *■. There is 
more in the letter to the same purpose. 

In a letter of the 10th of December, the nuncio says, the 
bishop of the five churches told him, that, the duke of 
Saxony and the count Palatine kneeled publicly at mass 
while the litany was being chantedf . Was this true ? was 
it unworthy compliance or infection ? The papal litany is 
full of idolatrous invocation. But, at all events, it is seen 
how such things in such circumstances are observed. 

On the 26th of December, we come to a series of letters 
by the legates for about a month. Visconti, for good rea- 
sons, had been sent to Rome, and the pen then went into 
other hands. There are two letters of credence to the pope 
and his nephew, given by the legates to Visconti ; and they 
subscribe themselves in the former — Humilissime e Devo- 
tissime Creature, li Cardinali. — Cardinals, it is true, are 

* cito alcuni luoghi, de' Concilii, che in effetto non si trouano. 

•f erano stati inginocchiati publicamente alia messa, tanto che si 

cantarono le litanie. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



275 



created by the pontiff ; but it is revolting to observe them 
call themselves his creatures. 

In a letter of the 7th of January, 1563, the legates begin 
with expressing their surprise to receive from the cardinal, 
to whom their letters are directed, Borromeo, the advice to 
be more communicative on the affairs of the council with the 
cardinal of Lorraine; for that it had been reported from 
Trent, that he complained of the legates as not only 
shunning all communication with him, but even guarding 
against him as an enemy. They did not wonder, that there 
were gossips among them who would say such things, but 
that such things should be attended to. On the contrary, 
they say, they had always felt the highest esteem for him, 
on account of his eminent goodness, religion, and honour- 
able respect towards his holiness and the apostolic see, and 
that in their letters they had called him an angel of peace, 
and a man sent of God ; and they lament, that he should 
be the subject of so much calumny. They would not, 
therefore, fail to continue most cordially their course of con- 
fidence with him. 

A curious circumstance is mentioned at. the close of the 
letter, of a Genoese gentleman then at Trent, who had been 
in the inquisition of Genoa, by means of whom it was hoped 
that many of his associates might be reduced to reconcilia- 
tion with the church. He seems to have been still under 
confinement of some sort ; for the ordinary of the place, the 
archbishop, was present, and is spoken of as the judge. 

A letter of the 15th of January describes the perilous 
state of the council at the time, and its demand upon all 
the dexterity and patience which can be imagined ; for the 
legates had to do with those who felt it impossible to belong 
to their party, and who were neither simple, ignorant, nor 
imprudent ; then, with those who were, as they ought to be, 
of their party, but were, each individual, obstinate in their 
own opinion, and disagreeing with each other, so that they 
equalled the concord and unity among the first, by the dis- 
cord and disunion among themselves, while each endea- 

t2 



276 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



voured to exceed the other in demonstrations of devotedness 
to the apostolic see, and the particular service of his holi- 
ness and the court. The mischief and disturbance which 
this would occasion, they say, may easily be conceived. 
They had received certain annotations from Rome, and a 
letter to be shewn* to Lorraine, with which he was little 
satisfied. With him they had consultations ; and a modifi- 
cation of the seventh canon was proposed. At an interview 
soon after, he appeared very conciliating, but intimated, that 
the form would not be accepted either by the Spaniards or 
the French, nor by himself, if the Holy Spirit did not 
inspire him to the contrary — an expression which they 
found proceeded from a very ill will. The legates had two 
objects in view; the one was, to establish the power of the 
pope on surer foundations than was done even by the Flo- 
rentine council ; the other, that if the French should be pro- 
voked to call for a free council, as they had heard with their 
own ears was intended, a dissolution would follow, of which 
they could not be charged as being the authors. We see by 
this, plainly enough, that suspension or dissolution was 
always in view with the pontificial party as a desirable ob- 
ject : but that party must not have the credit of being the 
cause. 

The next letter, of the 18th, contains a passage profitably 
descriptive of f the scandal occasioned to the council from 
' the differences discovered in it among catholics, who ought 
' to be all united against the heretics, and to lay aside what, 
' instead of making against the heretics, makes for them, while 
' they detect our imperfections and controversies. But if by 
e the secret judgement of God, concord is denied^ and the 
e session cannot be effected, and a dissolution and rupture 
' become necessary, let us have an express declaration of 
e the will of his holiness, , &c. The letter about the close 
has the curious proposition of a daily pigeon carriage, j- or 
post, between Rome and Trent, that the legates by this 

* mostrabile. 

f Bisognarebbe — avere una Columba, che ogni giorno volasse, &c. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIII. 



277 



means might mitigate the distresses which every day 
brought with it. 

In a letter of the 1st of February, the legates mention the 
return of Visconti to Trent. 

Visconti is the writer after this ; and on the same day a 
letter from him announces his safe arrival the 29th of the 
preceding month # . 

A letter of the 11th of February in my MS., but the 15th 
in Aymon, exhibits a curious disclosure of unfaithfulness in 
the secretary of the council, Massarelli, who in reporting the 
words of the president du Ferrier, in universali ecclesia 
plenam Potestatem, as Visconti and others understood him 
to say, speaking of the power of the pope, substituted supre- 
mam in Dei Ecclesia Potestatem. Another secretary, we 
shall find, was associated with him afterwards. 

In a letter of the 1st of March is mentioned the emperor's 
quotation, upon understanding, that the cup would not be 
granted, e Forty years long was I grieved with this genera- 
* tion, and said, they do always err in their heart,' &c. 

On the 8th of March is recorded the wonder of the cardi- 
nal of Lorraine, that when the legates send so many couriers 
to Rome, they make it appear as if they received no answer. 

There is a passage of some critical interest and import- 
ance in a letter of the 21st of June, where the writer com- 
plains, that the works of Cyprian just re-edited by Paulo 
Manutio were not corrected agreeably to the directions of 
the correctors, but that, in treating of the authority of the 
church, where the primacy of the Roman pontiff is spoken 
of, some words were changed so as to differ from those cited 
in the decretals, and certain authors. The passage in the 
new edition is further represented as disagreeing with a MS. 
copy in the possession of the late pope, Marcellus II. At 
a time when the authority of the pope is so much discussed, 
it would be desirable, he adds, that before opinions so inju- 

* It is to be observed, that from this date commence the Letters of Vis- 
conti, published with a French translation by Aymon. 



278 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



rious to it got abroad, means should be taken to remove 
them : which it is thought might be done by giving autho- 
rity to the passage as it should be, and authenticating it by 
the testimony and approbation of those who had collated 
the ancient copies. 

This enigmatical passage can refer to nothing in Cyprian 
but the celebrated passage, celebrated for the shameless in- 
terpolation which it has suffered, in the Treatise de Unitate 
Ecclesise. But the enigma is, that in the Aldine edition, as 
it now stands, the interpolation, to the heart's content of 
every devotee of pontifical authority, occupies its station in 
full and unblushing display. It is not, indeed, precisely 
what appears in behalf of the primacy in Distinct. 93, c. 3 ; 
but quite as good. What then is the fact ? Was the edition 
in question first printed after the first honest edition, by 
Sweynheim and Pannartz, in 1471, at Rome, and all other 
honest ones ; and before any, or many copies had found 
their way into the world, corrected by cancellation, which 
could easily be done in a full page where three lines only 
were to be inserted ? or what is the fact* ? The passage of 
Cyprian alluded to, where all the war lies between the 
friends and the foes of papal primacy, has suffered a strange 
and dishonourable fate in the last posthumous edition of the 
works of the saint. Let the reader examine the physical 
appearance only of the cancelled leaf in the text, and the 
several cancelled ones in the notes, where pages are con- 
verted into columns, or double pages and double signatures, 
to preserve the continuity of the numbers, or the matter of 

* The text as it now stands in Manutius's edition is as follows; the 
italics being what he has added to the text of the former editions : — Tamen 
ut unitatem manifestaret, unam cathedram constituit, et unitatis ejusdem 
originem ab uno incipientem sua auctoritate disposuit. Hoc erant utique 
et cseteri apostoli, quod fuit et Petrus, pari consortio prsediti et honoris 
et potestatis, sed exordium ab unitate proficiscitur, et primatus Petro 
datur, ut una Christi Ecctesia et cathedra una monstretur : et pastores 
sunt omnes, et grex unus ostenditur, qui et apostolis omnibus unanimi con~ 
sensione pascatur ; ut Ecclesia Christi una.monstretur. 



1563.] 



SESSION XX1J 



279 



the notes themselves, and then ask, and answer if he can, 
where is the moral honesty of Roman catholic editors* ? 

At the end of the letter mention is made of the additional 
secretary chosen by the legates, Adamo Fumario, or Fumani, 
according to Aymon. The objection made to Massarelli 
will be recollected. 



Session XXIV. 

PREPARATIONS— SESSION. 
Doctrine: Matrimony — Reformation : Ecclesiastical Regulations. 

Although the letters of Visconti have ceased to be the 
kind of authority to which we have mainly confined our- 
selves in the present work, as having been, in the period with 
which we are now concerned, made common property, by 
the publication and translation of Aymon, yet as that pro- 
duction is not of ordinary occurrence, and as the letters give 
peculiar and original information respecting certain facts 
of some importance ; as they likewise vindicate in a striking 
and unexpected manner the fidelity of the Venetian his- 
torian of the . council, there is sufficient reason and justi- 
fication for availing ourselves of the testimony of so well 
qualified and unexceptionable a witness, in the transactions 
immediately subsequent to the last session, where the nar- 
rative of Paleotto is rather unaccountably defective. 

In the first letter of the 19th of July, towards the end 
the nuncio writes, that he was informed by the first presi- 
dent, that he, and his colleagues, had deputed certain theo- 
logians to examine the subject of Indulgences, Invocation of 
Saints, and Purgatory ; and had assigned two for the pontiff, 
two for each of the three sovereigns — the emperor is re- 
markably omitted — and two generals of orders, whose 
business it should be, to consider of the most effectual way 

* The subject is adverted to again in letters of July 12, 19, and 22, but 
with no new light. 



280 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



of compendiously refuting the opinions of the heretics ; in 
such manner, that their opinions, when agreed upon, should 
be presented to the general congregation, and that by not 
making the disputations a separate thing, the fathers might 
not lose their time in hearing them, and so a more expe- 
ditious decision might be procured. The nuncio sent a 
copy of the canons of Matrimony before they were pub- 
lished, and added, that as the sixth contradicted St. Am- 
brose, it was thought proper, in order that the saint might 
not be condemned, to convert the canon with its accom- 
panying anathema into a simple decree. The deputies 
were directed likewise to consider the two points, whether 
married persons might be ordained, and whether clandestine 
marriages should be annulled. The appended Scrittura, 
or Memoir, mentions the invitation of the cardinal of Lor- 
raine to Rome; and the writers wish, that the visit should 
not take place until he had given his vote respecting Re- 
form, since the imperial ambassadors and the count de 
Lara were intent upon prolonging the council, the design 
of their sovereigns, in the opinion of intelligent men, being 
hostile to a speedy termination. This conclusion was 
confirmed by the Spanish ambassador's request to the 
president, that the advent of the protestants should be 
invited. 

This statement is important, as shewing how the dif- 
ferent ruling parties stood affected. The German and 
Spanish monarchs were for continuing the council : the 
Pontiff and the French court wished to abbreviate it. 

The epistle which we are now using contains a curious 
illustration of tenacity on points of honour, in the offence 
taken at the sermon of the bishop of Aliffi, which, it was 
demanded by the French, should neither be printed nor 
inserted in the acts, because he had therein named the king 
of Spain before the king of France. And the Venetians 
complained, that the duke of Savoy took the precedence 
of their republic. Orthodox ears were still further scandal- 
ized, by his asserting, that the morals of the heretics were 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



281 



not inferior to those of the catholics ; and he likewise inti- 
mated a declaration of the continuation of the council. It 
was reported that the sermon, as delivered, varied from that 
which was previously presented, as usual, in writing*. Vis- 
conti suggested to Morone to defeat the attempt of de Luna 
to protract the speeches, by insinuating to the fathers how 
they should speak. Respecting the contest of honour, the 
writer adds, that the Spanish ambassador was blamed by 
some of his countrymen for not availing himself of the day 
of St. Peter, to insist upon the administration of the incense 
and pax, when such an opportunity might not recur ; and 
he was mortified that he did not. 

The next letter of the 22d of July, mentions certain 
honours offered to Lorraine, in order to induce him to con- 
cur in accelerating the council, and the resolution of the 
cardinal to go to Rome. That now important personage 
was ingratiating himself with Morone and the Roman see, 
by intimating to the president the hostility of a chapter of 
the decree of Reform, and of the princes, to the authority of 
the pontiff, which authority he, notwithstanding, was de- 
termined to maintain to the utmost, as well as favour the 
expediting of the council. The Memoir gives a report of 
some interest. It was, that some theologians had prepared 
long dissertations on Indulgences. They had better, says 
the writer, be otherwise employed ; and the reason given, as 
coming from a quarter well informed on the subject, is 
worthy of remark. e The matter ' of Indulgences, writes the 
nuncio, e is so extended, that the discussion may produce 
e many difficulties, as well respecting the abuses connected 
e with it, the interpretation of bulls, and the terms used of 
* a pcena et culpa, as respecting the manner in which they 
' are applied to the deadf .' 

* II detto Monsignore parlando de' Costumi degli Heretici disse, ch'essi 
non erano inferiori a Cattolici in questa parte, e disse alcune parole per 
le quali veniva a dichiarare la continuazione, &c. This is according to the 
MS., which slightly, not at all in sense, differs from Aymon's edition. 

f che da essa possono nascere molte difficolta, si sopra gli Abusi 

di quella, et interpretatione delle Bolle, e delle parole uhe si usano di 



282 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



In a letter of the 29th, after noticing the unsatisfactory 
withdrawing of the censure by the deputies of the Index of 
Books, on the archbishop of Toledo, (Carranza, who was 
present at the death of Charles V, and prosecuted by the 
inquisition,) a fresh statement occurs of the opposition 
of the sovereigns of Germany and Spain to finishing the 
council, which, however, if the matters of the Sacraments 
and Reformation be despatched, may yet be done; par- 
ticularly with the assistance of Lorraine, to procure, that 
the king of France may give orders to his clergy in , that 
case to return to their churches. His holiness w T ould then 
have a honourable pretence for terminating the council, 
which, adds the writer, was congregated more on account 
of the state and affairs of France, than any of any other 
country *. 

We now rejoin our regular historic guide. His first 
fact is, the deputation by the pope of twenty-five prelates to 
examine the cause of the patriarch of Aquileia, accused by 
the holy inquisition f. 

The legates by letters from Rome were assured that his 
holiness approved of what they had done at the session relative 

Pena e di Colpa, come ancora del modo che si ponno pigliar per li morti. 
Some slight corrections are likewise made here, the most important 
that of del for dal. Aymon exhibits the modern orthography. We might 
introduce here, in conformity with chronology, a letter from the legates 
on the subject of indulgences, dated July 26, 1563, published by Lagomar- 
sini in his notes on Poggiano's Epistles : but it will appear more suitably 
hereafter. A Doyle, with his innocent ignorance, his plausible interpre- 
tation, his smooth evasions, his impudent inventions, would have been 
laughed at by those Avho knew the whole story of indulgences. The hint 
was taken of being very concise on this dangerous ground ; and we shall 
probably find a place for defeating this prudent taciturnity. 

* This last is an extraordinary assertion. It was customary hitherto 
to make the state of Germany the cause of assembling the council. Even 
if the observation refer to the last meeting under the present pope, it is 
hardly the fact. But the new view was politic. 

t See an account of Grimani in Gerdesii Ital. Reform., pp. 91 — 93. He 
was accused of Lutheran and Calvinian errors, and a certain epistle was 
fixed upon as containing them. He was acquitted after twenty-four days' 
trial, by the influence of the Venetian senate. His chief offence, however, 
was correction of his clergy. The case is mentioned by Visconti, Aug. 2. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



283 



to precedence ; and they were admonished to make a demon- 
stration of great intimacy with the cardinal of Lorraine, to 
whom a breve had been sent full of affectionate expression, 
and inviting his eminence to Rome. The project of reforma- 
tion, as it concerned the cardinals, the pontiff referred to the 
legates, since the deputies, appointed by him for that pur- 
pose in Rome, did not undertake the matter with sufficient 
alacrity *. 

The French ambassadors presented a certain petition con- 
cerning the declaration of clandestine marriage, and the 
fathers voted on the sacrament. 

As the ambassadors and fathers had often required an 
important and substantial reformation of manners, the 
legates drew up forty-two articles on the subject. These 
were presented in loose and separate sheets, which produced 
some suspicion, but it was explained to have been done for 
the greater facility of alteration. The Spanish ambassador, 
perhaps with some secret design, urged, that in the place of 
these proposals, certain prelates of each nation should deliver 
in an account of the particular reforms needed in each. Al- 
though most of the other ambassadors were instructed by 
their sovereigns to unite with him, they objected to this 
unusual course, and thought addition was better than sub- 
stitution. The count, although stiff in his own opinion, 
suffered himself ultimately to be persuaded to withdraw his 
proposal. 

After some days the ambassadors presented various an- 
notations on the articles of reformation. The forty-two arti- 
cles, chiefly at the request of the Spanish ambassador, were 
reduced to thirty-six. The six omitted ones were of tithes, 
reduction of masses, excommunication, that the clergy should 
not mix in secular matters, the value of resigned benefices. 
Of the remaining article, in which the removal of impedi- 
ments, arising from secular persons — a point of importance 
as concerning secular magistrates and princes, and violently 

* quoniam deputati in Urbe a Papa non satis rem alacriter ampleo 

tantur. 



284 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



contested afterwards, as we shall see — the Spaniard would 
say nothing, having no instructions from his court ; but the 
French requested that the subject should be deferred to 
another session. 

On the 11th of August and many following days, the 
votes of the fathers were given on matrimony. 

The articles on reformation underwent much alteration, 
and to secure greater despatch certain classes were appointed, 
and everything was proceeding prosperously, when almost 
all the ambassadors united in signifying their repugnance to 
the proposal of the last chapter concerning the impediments 
of seculars. The legates notwithstanding would not yield 
to withdraw it. The emperor said that it contained many 
things calculated to disturb the German states, and that 
being then engaged in the diet of Vienna, he wished for time 
to deliberate. The legates at length agreed to defer that 
and another chapter of the right of patronage, which was 
objected to, for ten or twelve days. The prelates then took 
up the cause with violence, and declared they would not 
vote, unless they were gratified. There were those who 
accused the pontiff and his court of having purposely intro- 
duced an article, which it was foreseen the princes must 
reclaim against ; and thus the whole affair of reformation 
would be disturbed and quashed. Others discovered in this 
opposition the mind of the secular princes, who were suffi- 
ciently zealous of reform in the church, but desired none in 
themselves. Others blamed the delay granted by the le- 
gates as a virtual allowance, that the council was superior to 
the pope. After a great deal of consultation, and with the 
consent of Lorraine, the legates agreed, that only twenty of 
the articles of reformation should be published, and the re- 
mainder, with the obnoxious one, at the present or a future 
session. 



In order that the reader may have some notion of the 
contents of the warmly litigated chapter, without trans- 
cribing the whole, which is very extended, either in an 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



285 



original or a translation, we will satisfy ourselves with the 
abridgment of Fra Paolo, and, for the benefit of the English 
reader, in Brent's translation % 

' The synod, besides the things constituted concerning 
' ecclesiastical persons, hath thought fit to correct the 
' abuses of the seculars, brought in against the immunity of 
the church, hoping that the princes will be content, and 
f cause due obedience to be rendered to the clergy. And 
( therefore it doth admonish them to cause their magistrates, 
c officers, and temporal lords, to yield that obedience to the 
' pope and constitutions of the council, which themselves are 
f bound to perform. And, for facilitation hereof, it doth 
' renew some things decreed by the holy canons and imperial 
' laws, in favour of ecclesiastical immunity, which ought to 
e be observed upon pain of anathema; L That ecclesiastical 
f persons may not be judged in a secular court, howsoever 
' there may be doubt of the title of the clerkship, or them- 
' selves consent, or have renounced the things obtained, or for 
s any cause whatsoever, though under pretence of public 
f utility, or service of the king ; nor shall be proceeded against 

* there in cause of murder, if it be not truly and properly a 

• murder, and notoriously known, nor in other cases permitted 
' by the law, without the declaration of the law going before. 
' 2. That in causes spiritual, of matrimony, heresy, patronage, 
e beneficial, civil, criminal, and mixed, belonging in what 
' manner soever to the ecclesiastical court, as well over per- 
e sons, as over goods, tithes, fourths, and other portions ap- 
f pertaining to the church, or over beneficial patrimonies, 
' ecclesiastical fees, temporal jurisdiction of churches, the 
■ temporal judges shall not meddle, neither in the petitory, 
' nor in the possessory, taking away all appeal upon pre- 
' tence of justice denied, or as from an abuse, or because the 
' things obtained are renounced : and those who shall have 
' recourse to the secular magistrate, in the causes aforesaid, 
f shall be excommunicated, and deprived of their rights be- 

* Lib. viii., pp. 719-20, ed. 1G76. 



286 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



i longing unto them in these things. And this shall be observed 
' also in causes depending in what instance soever. 3. That 
( the seculars shall not appoint judges in causes ecclesiastical,. 

* though they have apostolic authority, or a custom time out 

< of mind : and the clerks who shall receive such offices from 
' the laics, though by virtue of any privilege whatsoever, 
6 shall be suspended from their orders, deprived of their 
' benefices and offices, and made incapable of them. 4. 
e That the secular shall not command the ecclesiastical 
' judge not to excommunicate without licence, or to revoke 
e or suspend the excommunication denounced, nor forbid 
' him to examine, cite, and condemn, or to have sergeants or 
e ministers for execution. 5. That neither the emperor, 
c kings, nor any prince whatsoever, shall make edicts or con- 
e stitutions, in what manner soever, concerning ecclesiastical 
' causes, or persons, nor meddle with their persons, causes, 
' jurisdictions, or tribunals, no not in the Inquisition ; but 
e shall be bound to offer the secular arm to the ecclesiastical 

< judges ; 6. That the temporal jurisdiction of the eccle- 
f siastics, though with mere and mixed power, shall not be 
c disturbed, nor their subjects drawn to the secular tribunals 
( in causes temporal. 7. That no prince or magistrate shall 
e promise by breve or other writing, or give hope to any to 
e have a benefice within their dominion, nor procure it from 
' the prelates, or chapters, or regulars, and he who shall 
e obtain it by that means, shall be deprived and incapable. 
' 8. That they shall not meddle with the fruits of benefices 

* vacant, under the pretence of custody or patronage, or pro- 
' tection, or of withstanding discords, nor shall place there 
' either bailiffs or vicars : and the seculars who shall accept 
e such offices and custodies should be excommunicated, and 
c the clerks suspended from their orders, and deprived of 

* their benefices. 9. That the ecclesiastics shall not be forced 

* to pay taxes, gabels, tithes, passages, subsidies, though in 
' the name of gift or loan, either in respect of the church 
' goods, and of their patrimonial, except in provinces where 



1503.J 



SESSION XXIV. 



287 



f by antient custom the ecclesiastics themselves do assist in 
public parliaments, to impose subsidies both upon the laity 
' and the clergy, to make war upon the infidels, or for other 
' urgent necessities. 10. That they shall not meddle with 
' ecclesiastical goods, moveable or immoveable, vassalages, 
< tenths, or other rights, nor in the goods of communities or 
( private men, over which the church hath any right : nor 
' shall rent out the pasturage or herbage, which groweth in 
' the lands and possessions of the church. 11. That the 
e letters, sentences, and citations of judges ecclesiastical, 
e especially of the court of Rome, so soon as they be exhi- 
' bited, shall be intimated without exception, published and 
' executed ; neither shall it be necessaiy to require consent 
' or licence, which is called exequatur or placet, or by any 
( other name either for this, or for taking possession of bene- 
e fices, though upon pretence of withstanding falsehoods and 
( violences, except in fortresses in those benefices, in which 
f princes are acknowledged by reason of the temporality ; and 
f in case there should be doubt of falsity, or of some great 
' scandal or tumult, the bishop, as the pope's delegate, shall 
' constitute what he thinketh needful. 12. That princes and 
e magistrates shall not lodge their officers, servants, soldiers, 
e horses, or dogs, in the houses or monasteries of the eccle- 
' siastics, nor take anything from them for their food or 
' passage. 13. And if any kingdom, province, or place shall 
' pretend not to be bound by any of the things aforesaid, by 
' virtue of privileges from the apostolic see which are in actual 
' use, the privileges shall be exhibited to the pope within a 
' year after the end of the council, which shall be confirmed 
' by him, according to the merits of the kingdoms or pro- 
f vinces ; and, in case they be not exhibited before the end 
f of the year, they shall be understood to be of no force. 
' And, for the epilogue, there was an admonition to all princes 
' to have in veneration the things which concern the clergy, 
f as peculiar to God, and not to suffer them to be offended 
6 by others, renewing all the constitutions of popes and holy 



288 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



f canons, in favour of ecclesiastical immunity, commanding 
< under pain of anathema, that neither directly nor indirectly, 
e under any pretence whatsoever, anything be constituted or 
e executed against the persons or goods of the clergy, or 
f against their liberty, any privileges or exemptions, though 
c immemorial, notwithstanding.' 

On the 5th of September a copy of the canons respecting 
matrimony, lately reformed, was published. They were 
altered a third time, and discussed in the congregations. 
On the last day, the 10th of September, when it was signi- 
fied to the fathers that on the next the articles of reforma- 
tion would be examined, a considerable number of them 
began to exclaim that many of the chapters, and particularly 
that of the impediments from seculars, was withdrawn, and 
added, that they would not vote, unless the last was restored ; 
they had heard that the council was to be suspended after 
the next session, and if that were the case, the last chapter 
would be lost. 

The count de Luna had promised the legates that he 
would do all in his power, that the next session should 
pass without disturbance, but yet insisted that the clause, 
proponentibus legatis, should be withdrawn *. 

The congregations on reformation beginning on the 11th 
of September, the cardinal Morone made a speech suited 
to the occasion f. Lorraine followed, observing, that although 

* The Diary of Servantio, under the 7th of September, informs us, that 
a copy of the twenty-one chapters of reform, reformed the fourth time 5 were 
presented to the fathers, which, in order that they might be more readily 
assented to and passed in the general congregation, were distributed by the 
legates among various private congregations in the houses of the prelates, 
the French in one, the Spaniards in another, and the Italians in the three, 
of Otranto, Taranto, and Parma. 

f The speech of the cardinal, as it appears in the Diarist, is more satis- 
factory than as reported by Paleotto, He in substance announced, that the 
part of the decree of reformation, which related to the impediments arising 
from secular princes, as the episcopal jurisdiction was disturbed thereby, 
could not be settled with the other portion. He, however, and his col- 
leagues promised, that within three days they would exhibit them, so that 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



289 



his life was principally spent in courts, he would speak 
according to his conscience. On a speech of a Spanish 
canon, not pleasing to the Spanish ambassador, he ordered 
him to leave Trent within twenty-four hours. This was 
resented as trenching upon the liberty of the council. Other 
congregations followed. 

On the 14th of September, another copy of the articles of 
reformation was given to the fathers, with fourteen added, 
including the celebrated last, making with twenty-one, as 
reckoned with Paleotto, thirty-five. 

After several meetings at the chief president's house and 
elsewhere, concerning clandestine marriages, the particulars 
of which are of minor importance, a congregation met on the 
15th of September, which, as usual, was opened by Morone, 
who lamented, while he asserted, the necessity of deferring 
the session to a later day. Some fathers spake, and the 
result was, to appoint St. Martin's Day, with the power of 
abbreviating it, for the next session. 

Many opinions were expressed on the subject. The 
Spanish ambassador was accused of doing all in his power 
to protract the council. The emperor was said to have 
urged that some German heretics should be sent to it, to 
discuss doctrines with the fathers, and under license of the 
safe conduct repeat what had been settled, and lead the 
council into long disputes. He required likewise that in- 
dulgences and other points should be examined, although 
enough had been concluded to refute the opinions of the 
heretics. Even at Rome the king's ministers insisted that 
every matter should be thoroughly discussed — all which 
things tended to the consequence, that there should be no 
end to the council for many years. 

On the 16th of September, votes were taken on the twenty- 
one articles of reformation; and on the same day a letter 

with the rest, they might be decreed in the next session. He added, that 
the fathers need have no fears respecting the suspension of the council. 

U 



290 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



came from the emperor on the subject of the controverted 
chapter, saying, that, although he willingly subjected him- 
self to the decisions of the council, it seemed hard that the 
secular estate should be sacrificed ; that at one blow of the 
axe so vast a wood should be levelled, and that ecclesias- 
tics should be judges in their own cause. He added two 
grievances. 

On the 18th, the cardinal of Lorraine set off on his visit 
to Rome for a month, that he might be present at the 
session. Much good fruit was expected from this visit. 
Many prelates at this time began to retire from the council, 
principally the French, from disgust at its prolixity; the 
legates feeling or dissembling repugnance *. 

On the 20th of September, the bishop of Ventimiglia, 
Visconti, went to Rome to prepare for his embassy to the 
court of Spain. 

The fathers gave their votes on the twenty-one articles of 
reformation on the 21st of September. 

It is at this place that the Venetian historian introduces 
his discussion of the reasons which induced many of the 
bishops to favour the chapter of the decree of reforma- 
tion invading the province of secular princes. They were 
three — the first, that the curates should depend upon them ; 
the second, the wish to suppress exemptions ; the third, de- 
liverance from the circumscription by secular magistrates, of 
their temporal and absolute power over the people. Some 
way onward, he has given the substance of the contested 
chapter containing, according to his enumeration, thirteen 
articlesf . They are extant at length in the Varia TractataJ, 
and in the published Instructions et Lettres concernant le 
Concile de Trente§, from which they are adopted into the 
collection of Le Plat, who has placed at the bottom of the 
page another copy of the same document as it is found in the 

* — repugnantibus tamen legatis, aut saltern dissimulantibus. 

t L. viii., c. 44 arid 53. We have thought it best to insert it earlier. 

I Fol. 230 et seqq. § Pp. 580 et seqq. Ed. 1554. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



291 



Diarium Torelli Pholse de Puggio*. Had the compilers of 
this inflammatory chapter confined themselves to the argu- 
ment, that if the secular princes were so hard upon the 
papacy for its offences in the distribution of ecclesiastical 
patronage and government, and required suitable reforma- 
tion, it was but reasonable, that the secular princes, who 
have a considerable portion of such patronage and govern- 
ment, and were guilty enough in their degree, should acqui- 
esce in, if they did not even voluntarily propose, proportion- 
able reformation on their own $>art, they would have stood 
upon ground comparatively solid. But reckoning probably 
upon the fact, that the spirit which animates the whole body 
of the system, whether in the secular or ecclesiastic division, 
is callous to all perceptions of equity, it was felt useless to 
take a position which they were conscious would only lead 
to endless recrimination; and therefore they adopted the 
broad and open course, which has so often succeeded, of ar- 
rogant and overbearing assumption. 

A congregation was held on the 22nd. The French am- 
bassadors began with complaints, that their kings had 
depended upon former councils, and on the first and second 
Tridentine ones without success. They were told, that they 
were satisfied in this by the decrees which had been passed. 
They retorted, that they did not want definitions of dogmas, 
but a serious reformation ; and the interference with secular 
princes would only excite disturbance. The 35th chapter 
tended to overturn the Gallic liberties and the laws of the 
kingdom ; and more to the same purpose. The speech was 
the subject of severe animadversion to the liostile party. 

The congregations in the mean time kept to their ap- 
pointed work; and, as they had done before, and as 
Visconti somewhere says they did now, met twice a day. 

The count de Luna again attacked the clause, proponen- 
tibus legatis, and expected, it appears, that the form should 
be changed. 

* Tom. vi., pp. 225 et seqq, 

v 2 



292 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



Letters at this time arrived from various cardinals to 
many of the fathers, entreating them that they would not, 
by the proposed reformation, bring the whole Roman court 
to ruin. This could not but create much dissension ; and 
it is added, that when his holiness became acquainted with 
the fact, he signified great and public displeasure against 
those cardinals. 

An affair now occurred, which embarrassed the legates 
and threatened to disturb the whole council. At the open- 
ing of the present portion of the council by Pius IV, the 
words proponentibus legatis, which were introduced into the 
decree prepared for the occasion, were strongly attacked, 
principally by the Spaniards ; and their king himself re- 
quested of the pontiff, that the decree might be so reformed 
as to offer no obstruction to the liberty of the council. The 
emperor made a similar application. The legate, however, 
contrived to satisfy them. The subject was still matter of 
much negotiation ; and the Spanish ambassador, taking ad- 
vantage of it, desired that the legates would provide another; 
otherwise he and the bishops of his nation would absent 
themselves from the session. He pressed the legates, 
indeed, so importunately, that they could not escape without 
a promise of doing what was desired, unless the king of 
Spain should signify anything to the contrary. After two 
months, the king wrote to his ambassador to require a decree 
to the purpose described; and he sent a form which he 
wished the legates to publish, containing the declaration, 
that it should be free both to all prelates and their princes 
to propose. The legates replied, that, as to princes, so far 
were they from any right to propose, that it was only by 
favour they were permitted to be present in the congrega- 
tions; and prelates were excluded because the right was 
peculiar to the presiding legates. After some forms were 
proposed, de Luna presented one in obedience, as he said, 
to his king's command. The legates consulted the fathers, 
who thought it derogatory to the honour of the synod, that 
what it had settled should be a subject of revision ; there 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



293 



were likewise in the proposed form some clauses which dis- 
pleased them. The legates in their difficulty referred to cer- 
tain letters which they had formerly received from the pontiff ; 
and they found, in one of May, that he authorized them to 
make the declaration, as his own,, that the synod should 
retain full liberty: he therefore left it to the discretion of 
the council, either to continue or reject the words in ques- 
tion. To this effect they explained matters to the count ; 
and as he affirmed that he could not transgress his sove- 
reign's commands, so they alleged that they could not trans- 
gress his holiness's. They therefore resolved to refer the 
subject to the free opinion of the council; and suggested, 
that the king of Spain, although so careful of the liberty of 
the council, was the first disturber of that liberty in the per- 
son, and late act, of his ambassador, who had expelled from 
the council a canon for speaking his mind. This, of course, 
did not tend to pacify the ambassador, and he charged the 
legates with want of good faith, and other offences ; but they 
justified themselves by a reference to the letters of the pope. 
Not. being disposed to acquiesce in a defeat, the count pre- 
pared a protest, in which he expected the prelates to join, 
but was disappointed. He therefore detailed the case to his 
holiness, trusting that he would both perform his own pro- 
mise, and more strictly bind his legates to perform theirs ; 
and then all would go on well. 

On the same day, the 28th of September, votes were de- 
livered on the twenty-one articles of Reformation, when the 
bishop of Guadix inveighed with some energy against the 
officials of the Roman court, enumerating the charges to 
himself in particular, for issuing bulls* to his church, 
amounting to 4856 of some unnamed, but, it may be pre- 
sumed, familiar and intelligible, species of money f. The 

* expediendis bullis. 

f Pallavicino is more angry than Paleotto with this smarting father, 
whose oration he describes thus : — fece un discorso focosamente invettivo 
contra gli officiali di Roma, xxiii, 3, 25. Ayala, bishop of Segovia, in the 
MS. life of himself, published by Villanueva at the end of his own Literary 
Lite, speaks highly of the constancy, amidst general defection, of this man. 



294 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



bishop of Nocera, in answer, gave the speaker credit for 
obeying his conscience ; but added, that if it was treason to 
endeavour to withdraw the revenues of temporal princes, it 
was a much graver offence to invade the most just and ne- 
cessary revenue of the universal pastor of all churches. 
When the remainder of the opinions had been taken on the 
subject of Reformation, which was on the 18th of October, 
the legates began to think of the approaching session within 
a fortnight ; for the settling of that and of other affairs, de- 
ferring the chapter respecting princes to another. Morone, 
who opened the meeting as usual, referring to the agitating 
and voluminous chapter in question, the 35th, stated the ap- 
plication of the imperial and other ambassadors, for time to 
consult their respective sovereigns on the subject. For him- 
self, he would leave the whole decision to the synod ; and he 
concluded with offering several reasons for complying with 
the request. A variety of opinions was of course delivered 
on this proposal : they were of no great importance or ori- 
ginality ; and the majority agreed with the president, who 
dismissed the fathers with an exhortation to fervent prayer 
and fasting, in order to obtain divine direction. He, how- 
ever, proposed, that certain prelates should be chosen to put 
the decrees in an amended state. 

All the fathers referred the choice to the legates ; and on 
the following day sixteen deputies were fixed upon by the 
legates for that duty. They were classified in such a man- 
ner as to expedite business. 

Under the date of the 16th of October, intelligence is re- 
ported to have been received from Rome of the benign 
reception of the cardinal of Lorraine, who was admitted to 
a place in the office of the holy inquisition by his holiness. 

Cardinal Morone, he writes, had conquered everything by his arts, {con sus 
artes,) and gained both cardinal Porena and the archbishop of Granada, as well as 
others who had supported him and his party. None remained with him but the 
bishops of Gerona, of Vique, and of Guadix, though they did not venture to 
show themselves quite openly. His own courage did not fail : but the news of 
the pope's illness, made the most of. procured a premature termination of the 
council, ii., 421. One cannot help mourning over Guerrero. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



295 



His holiness is said, on the subject of reformation, to have 
constantly affirmed, that he wished for an effectual reforma- 
tion, both in the head and members, and that the times re- 
quired more severe remedies than had yet been proposed. 
He was contented that what was necessary should be deter- 
mined respecting the cardinals. If the council should do 
nothing in this respect, he would himself exercise some 
rigour by beginning with his nephews, whom he wished to 
reside in, and serve, their churches. 

On the 25th of October, it was signified to the fathers, 
that, having been supplied with a copy of the amended de- 
cree concerning matrimony, a general congregation would 
be held the next day to receive their opinions by simple 
assent or dissent, as the subject had been examined for the 
third time. 

The council at that time was staggered by news from 
Rome of various promotions, at the instance of the cardinal 
of Lorraine. All were astonished and grieved that such 
measures should originate with a man, from whom they had 
great expectations in the business of reform — measures both 
so opposite to his own professions, and so repugnant to the 
decrees which had been passing, and were being prepared, in 
the council. So that all hopes from him were at an end, 
and his best friends allowed that he betrayed the infirmity 
of human nature. 

On the 26th of October followed the congregations, and 
on the next day they were finished, on matrimony reformed 
for the fourth time ; and about fifty-eight fathers persisted 
in the opinion, that marriages were not to be annulled: 
others thought differently. On the 29th, the deputies for 
amending the decrees of reformation finished their task. 

The count de Luna did not cease to urge his holiness 
and the legates to make a decree respecting the clause pro- 
ponentibus legatis. The pontiff, in order to gratify the king 
of Spain, ordered five forms to be written, and sent them 
to the legates, that they might deliberate among themselves 
which were the most suitable ; and exhibit that which they 



296 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



preferred to the synod. The count was not satisfied, and 
professed that, if nothing more was done, he was furnished 
with a protest, which he had it in command from his sove- 
reign in that case to deliver. This announcement was not 
acceptable to the legates, and they exerted themselves by 
negotiation to effect some honourable agreement. 

The Spanish and many other prelates complained griev- 
ously, that, in correcting the decrees by the deputies, the 
votes as described by the secretaries were not conformable 
with those verbally delivered ; but that after the congre- 
gation many of the fathers, privately and secretly by papers, 
transmitted votes very different from what they had uttered 
in the congregation — a thing unlawful in itself, and pro- 
ductive of the suspicion of fraud and subornation. This 
had happened with respect to three chapters in particular, 
where the Spaniards thought that the votes which they had 
heard were more in favour of their opinion than they ap- 
peared to be as recorded ; and they were indignant, that 
the words of their associates should not, in consequence of 
such inaccuracy, appear worthy of faith. That there might 
be no future ground for this complaint, it was ordered that 
each father should not only speak his opinion, but deliver it 
in writing to the secretary at the time ; since from the nature 
of the case secretaries could not always be exact. Many of 
the discrepancies afterwards discovered might be traced to 
this cause. Nevertheless, adds the honest historian, it can- 
not be denied, that even hence was afforded an opportunity 
of suborning some ; and many, being persuaded to alter 
their first opinion, although with very good faith they may 
have changed for the better, said one thing and wrote an- 
other*. 

We may supply with some advantage a deficiency of the 
historian in this place by a document contained in the 

* negari tamen non potest, quin hinc ad subornandos aliquos locus 

praestitus fuerit, multique suasionibus revocati a pristina sententia aliud 
scripserint aliud dixerint ; quamvis et aliqui bona fide meliorem sequentes 
sententiam idem fecerint. 



1503.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



297 



manuscript volume, entitled Varia Tractata. The papal 
nuncio to Trent, who was sent back to Rome, was considered 
by his holiness of so much ability and trustworthiness, as to 
be employed upon an embassy of some delicacy and diffi- 
culty to his most catholic majesty of Spain. The document 
adverted to is, the Instructions which he received when sent 
upon that important business. The title will explain the 
main object. Instruttione data a Monsignor Carlo Visconte 
mandato da Papa Pio 4°- al Re Catt c0 - on the affairs of the 
Council of Trent, and to obtain an interview between his 
holiness, the most Christian king, and his Catholic majesty, 
and on other most important businesses. At Rome, the last 
day of October, m.d.lxiii. Of all the individuals in the 
council, there were none with whom the legates had so much 
uniform trouble as with the Spanish, both ambassador and 
prelates ; and it could not be doubted, that, as they repre- 
sented, they acted with the approbation, if not at the com- 
mand, of their sovereign. It was therefore highly important 
to the council and its real rulers, that the views of the 
Spanish monarch should undergo some alteration in their 
favour. And this was the object of the embassy of the 
Bishop of Ventimiglia. He was instructed to impress upon 
the mind of his catholic majesty, the purity of his holiness's 
views and acts, and to obtain his concurrence to the progress 
and prosperous termination of the council. He was to sug- 
gest, that as the proceedings of his holiness were applauded 
by all the other princes, he had the more reason to expect 
the assistance of that prince, who had shown such an affec- 
tion for the catholic religion, and whose dominions were less 
infected with heresies than any other in Christendom. His 
holiness's dependence was upon the sovereigns, and par- 
ticularly upon him, not less zealous of the universal good 
than of his own catholic name. France in particular excited 
his commiseration ; and he was anxious, that, himself forming 
one, there should be a personal conference of the three 
principal parties ; and, in indulgence to his own age and 
infirmities, he proposed that Nice in the south of France 



298 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



should be the place of meeting. This is the main object of 
the embassy ; but there are collateral points of some im- 
portance occurring in the Instructions. Among these is the 
information, that the cardinal of Lorraine had a long con- 
versation with his holiness respecting a proposed marriage 
between the queen of Scots and the archduke Charles, 
which would conduce to the public good, as there could be 
no hope of restoring the catholic religion in Scotland but by 
such means. And it would be another result of so honour- 
able a match to assist those in England of the Roman com- 
munion, who would, without such assistance, be destitute of 
all hope of ever seeing the catholic religion restored in their 
kingdom. Passing over the reference to the pest existing at 
Inspruck, we are edified by a qualm of conscience in his 
holiness respecting the indulgences of the Cruzada, which 
are forced even upon the unwilling*; but which yet his 
majesty wished to have renewed. It is intimated, that his 
holiness would comply. The same was to be said with re- 
spect to the indulgences for the building of St. Peter's, which, 
since his holiness, out of respect to his majesty, has not re- 
voked in Spain, although he has revoked them in Italy and 
all other places, ought to be used with all suitable equity 
and circumspection ; more particularly, that occasion might 
not be given to exclaim against the fact in the council, where 
the fathers would often have shown their feeling upon the 
subject, had they not been diverted from so doing by one 
who was well disposed to his majesty's interestf. The 
nuncio is likewise directed to condole with his majesty on the 
conduct of the prince of Orange, who, in the midst of even 
the papal territory of Avignon, was not only not ashamed 
to allow the public preaching of the Huguenots, but had 
deputed as a governor Mons. St. Urban, the most pestilent he- 
retic and declared enemy of his holiness in the whole country. 

* etiam ab invitis. 

i tanto piu per non dare, cbe dire, e gridare in concilio, dove i 

Padri ne haverebbono piu volte fatto risentimento, se non fussero divertiti 
da chi porta affettione alle cose di sua Maesta. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



299 



His holiness has admonished and threatened this prince, 
that, if he do not amend, he will deprive him of his state, as 
a heretic and favourer of heretics, and will give it to the 
first occupant. The nuncio was likewise to acquaint his 
majesty, that his holiness had given six months' notice, now 
elapsed, to the queen of Navarre, that he would proceed 
against her ad privationem according to law, and that his 
holiness, for the love of God, of himself, and of the whole 
Catholic religion, could defer the sentence no longer; and 
that now, deprived as she was of her dominions, they would 
become the property of the first occupant. We have not, 
says Borromeo, speaking in his uncle's name, been willing 
to speak, or to allow to be spoken of in the council, the case 
of the queen of England, although she merits judgment no 
less than that other, and this out of respect to his majesty; 
but it will be necessary one day to take some course with 
her, and his majesty ought at least to do his best, that the 
bishops and other Catholics may not be molested by her, 
but, on the contrary, allowed to live free with their holy re- 
ligion in the kingdom, or at least be freely permitted to leave 
the country*. 

On the 2d of November, the congregations recommenced 
their labours on the decrees of reformation, when Morone 
began by saying, that he had hoped to anticipate the day of 
session, but that the many difficulties which occurred pre- 
vented. Now the time pressed upon them, and it would be 
a disgrace not to celebrate the session at the appointed day. 
He therefore exhorted all to speak their minds freely, and in 
the fear of God ; and then, although they might not satisfy 

* Foil. 301—17. This paper is signed Ultimo d'Ottobre. Card 1 ' 8 - Boro- 
meus. What Protestant and Briton does not feel his indignation rise at this 
insolent assumption in a foreign bishop, which ripened under his successor 
into a more substantial and atrocious demonstration ? And who, in the 
view of the armed conspiracy of sovereigns, temporal and spiritual, against 
his religion, his country, and the virgin queen, does not feel himself bound 
to justify even those measures of necessary self-defence, which may occa- 
sionally have transgressed the strict bounds of natural justice ? Let the 
traitors who made the necessity justify themselves. 



300 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



every body, all would be well. Next followed the archbishop of 
Braga, who, having lately returned from Rome, pronounced 
a panegyric upon the zeal of the pontiff for reformation. 

On the 4th of November, votes were given on the twenty 
chapters of reformation proposed for the second time. 

On the 5th, the cardinal of Lorraine returned from 
Rome, and he likewise was full of encomium, upon the great 
ardour of his holiness for reformation, and the removal of 
abuses, so that he complained of the provisions of the coun- 
cil as milder than the times required. 

On the 7th of November, at a congregation, he pursued 
the subject in a formal speech, enlarging on the virtues and 
exertions, first of the pontiff, and then of the legates, con- 
cluding that nothing remained but that the fathers should 
do their part. He added some information respecting what 
he had observed in his interview with that elevated per- 
sonage, and, in proof of his most holy mind, said, that he 
was ready to go to Spain or France, or more remote places, 
for the safety and advancement of the church *. He re- 
lated many other things in extreme commendation of his 
holiness, adding, that if he appeared such to the most reverend 
prelate of Braga, who was so inflamed with divine zeal, how 
ought he to appear to so tepid a man as himself? He 
then proceeded to speak of the articles. 

On the 10th of November, the day preceding the session, 
a congregation assembled, in which was first read the de- 
cree of matrimony. That part which relates to clandestine 
marriages was disapproved by forty-seven of the fathers, one 
hundred and twenty-six approved the whole. After this 
Morone said, that although the placing the clause^ Salva 
Sedis ApostoliccB auctoritate, at the beginning of the articles 
of reformation was approved by the majority, he would not 
omit to say, that many judicious persons thought it should 
be reserved for the close. Of the fathers, when their votes 

* If the reader wish to know what this means, it was — to incite the 
princes to persecute the Protestants with all their might. 



1563] 



SESSION XXIV. 



301 



were called for, ninety -nine appeared for deferring the 
clause; the opposite party were fewer. So, it was recorded 
by the notaries in the Acts, and the question was not 
further moved. Then were read the decrees of reformation, 
in which both the Spanish and the French were accommo- 
dated by concessions respectively desired by them. After- 
wards Cardinal Morone explained why the decree, in which 
the words proponentibus legatis occurred was now proposed, 
and desiring a simple placet or non placet, the former was 
answered universally. It was then determined, that the 
session after the next should be on the Thursday after the 
conception of the blessed Virgin*. At the close of the congre- 
gation, considerable disturbance arose from the circumstance 
that, many of the Neapolitan bishops complained of op- 
pression by the archbishops, and especially their vicars. 
The principal grievance was, their being obliged, under pain 
of excommunication, to attend the metropolis to which their 
bishopric belonged, every year, which answered no other 
purpose than ostentation, and a recognition of their sub- 
jection. They likewise claimed relief from the archiepis- 
copal jurisdiction in other respects. The legates tried every 
method of composing the difference, lest the affair should 
get abroad; and lest it should become the common talk, 
that the archbishops and bishops were contending about 
their private interests. The archbishops pleaded im- 
memorial custom, and contended that the gradual sub- 
ordination of ecclesiastical ranks in the hierarchy, from the 
simple bishop to the supreme pontiff, was an important 
argument in support of their claim. The plaintiffs called 
for the vote, supposing that they should prevail by their 
superior number. The legates, with the assistance of their 
friends, strove in vain to settle the dispute; and even the 
archbishop of Zara espoused the cause of the inferior pre- 
lates. When, however, the question came to the vote, con- 
trary to all expectation, the bishops were found in the nii- 

* December 9, in this year. 



302 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



nority, which was discovered to arise from the haste with 
which the votes were registered. In consequence of this 
defeat, the Neapolitans moved every stone to have a decree 
passed in their favour at the session. 

On the 11th of November the session was held, and there 
were in it these singular circumstances ; firstly, that it lasted 
for a whole day and part of a night ; secondly, that all the 
legates and cardinals, who were present, disagreed among 
themselves on the subject of clandestine marriages; thirdly, 
that there were changes in the three articles. The fourth 
circumstance was, that many bishops followed the opinion 
of the archbishop of Zara, when they scarcely knew what 
he required ; nay, in the very time of divine worship, many 
bishops were seen soliciting others, and transmitting private 
papers, to the indignation and offence of the better prin- 
cipled, — a thing which had never been done before. A 
fifth circumstance was, that when Morone declared the 
votes aloud, as was the custom, he signified his own, with 
another legate's dissent respecting clandestine marriages, 
which, it was supposed, would have the effect of precluding 
any sanction on the subject by the session. The last peculiar 
circumstance was, that when, by general admission, both 
addition and subduction, at the time of the session, were 
impracticable, more of the fathers w T ere in favour of altering 
than of those who assented to the proposed decrees. There 
were some who thought, without foundation, that decrees, 
which were passed without previous consultation, were with- 
out obligation. Referring to the remarkable conduct of 
the archbishop just mentioned, the author abstains from 
assenting to the report, that he only wished to be relieved 
from subjection to his patriarch, and that therefore his con- 
duct was interested. And thus, he concludes, terminated 
the session, to the praise of the Omnipotent God, and of 
the glorious Virgin Mary. 

We have no account either in Paleotto or Servantio of the 
circumstances of the session ; not even of the preacher; and 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



303 



neither they nor Le Plat give a list or enumeration of the 
persons present. 

The defect of these writers is in some degree supplied by a 
letter in the Varia Tractata*, from Gherio, bishop of Ischia, 
to Don Giovan Manriquez, Nov. 14, 1563, concerning the 
session of the 11th of November. The writer is well pleased 
at the quiet and harmonious passing of the session, so much 
beyond expectation, although he dwells a little on the pro- 
lixity and fatigue attending it. The session, he says, was 
remarkable for the number and importance of the things 
established in it, and which, preceded as it was by so much 
controversy, could hardly have been anticipated to conclude 
so completely to the satisfaction of all parties. Many good 
reforms were resolved upon, which, chiefly referring to his 
holiness, plainly discovered the zeal and sincerity both of 
himself and of his legates in the general measure. Advert- 
ing to the future session, the writer proceeds to observe, that 
France in particular stood much in need of an authentic de- 
termination on the subject of Images, Purgatory, and Indul- 
gences ; but that it was desirable to avoid disputation, and 
consequent loss of time, on such subjects. It was therefore 
thought most expedient that certain decrees, under the head 
of reform of abuses, should be prepared. Disputations and 
subtleties, he adds, are resorted to more for ostentation of 
ability than for edification, since it is settled that there is a 
purgatory, and that the church has power to grant indul- 
gences j- ; and these foundations, which are by no means to 
be called in question, being laid, nothing remains but to 
remove abuses without entering into discussion. The cardi- 
nal of Lorraine, he observes, was quite in this way of think- 
ing ; and matters were put in such a train, that if even the 
legates were disposed to promote disputation, it could not be 

* Foil. 258—266. 

f This exceedingly reminds one of the logic of the town-clerk of 
Ephesus, " what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the 
Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image 
which fell down from Jupiter ? Seeing then that these things cannot he 
spoken against," &c. Acts xix, 35, 36. 



304 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



done without strong expressions of repugnance. The count 
de Luna, although he was in the habit of representing it 
as his sovereign's desire that discussion of the theologians 
should precede the establishment of decrees, was yet now 
contented with the remedy of abuses. Controversy could 
only prolong the council without credit or benefit ; and the 
Huguenots would take advantage of such prolongation to 
call for national synods, which could not be done when the 
present council was closed, and had concluded everything. 
Addressing the nationality of the person to whom he was 
writing, he says that nothing more was wanting to complete 
the satisfaction and joy of the council, than that the king of 
Spain should cordially unite his endeavours with those of all 
the other princes in bringing the council to a speedy and 
prosperous termination; and his holiness would feel more 
indebted to him than to all the other crowned heads. 

We have yet some short notice to take of the letters of 
Visconti. It would have been easy to crowd the foot of our 
pages with reference to collateral passages from this produc- 
tion ; and the margin of Courayer's translation of the Vene- 
tian historian is decisive, and subsequently appearing, evi- 
dence, how well the assailed integrity of that writer is sup- 
ported. But these letters are extant in print, for the period, 
with which this portion of our memoirs is concerned. We 
will therefore content ourselves with a concise reference to 
the rumour and alarm of the establishment of an inquisition, 
of the Spanish character, in Milan, and the abandonment of 
the brutal attempt, as referred to rather largely in letters 
dated the 2nd and 19th of August ; to an entreaty from 
Germany that the Recesses* of the diets should not be 
included in the projected new Index of Prohibited Books, 
August 16 ; and to jarring opinions on the subject of indul- 
gences, August 16. 

The decrees and canons of the council are to be found in 

* This is the most important result, or rather part, of a German diet. 
At the close of the diet, the resolutions are collected and reduced to writing 
and the act which contains them is called the Recess. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXIV. 



305 



their proper place, which is far from being inaccessible ; and 
although we have given something of an outline of the enact- 
ments of some of the preceding sessions, such is the expan- 
sive bulk of the present, coupled with their comparative non- 
importance, without adding that the substance of them has 
been forestalled, that we feel excused from entering into a 
review of them any further than to say, that the good fathers 
seem to have determined to compensate for the abbreviation 
and rapidity of their preparations by the quantity which 
those preparations ultimately produced ; and that the most 
remarkable article in the mass of doctrinal and disciplina- 
rian regulations on subjects in which they have done little 
more than shift the absurdity and corruption from one place 
to another, and effectually corrected none, is that in which 
the hotly-disputed clause, proponentibus legatis, is explained. 

The day for the next session was appointed to be the 9th 
of December : but it was abbreviated. 



Session XXV. 
PREPARATIONS — SESSION. 

Doctrine: ^Purgatory, Indulgences, Invocation Veneration and Relics of 
Saints, Sacred Images, &c, Regulars, and Nuns. — Reformation : Cardi- 
nals, Excommunication, Episcopal Sees, &c, Duelling, &c. — Index of Books, 
Catechism, Revisal of Breviary and Missal committed to the Pope. 

Everything was now tending with precipitate and almost 
indecorous speed to the termination of the council; and its 
conductors, from the pontiff and his legates to the generals 
of orders, seemed to be impatient of the hazards of any 
session. That, however, it was necessary, at least for one 
time more, to encounter, and the usual preparations were 
put in train. 

Two days after the last session,, twenty-five prelates of 
different nations, with Lorraine and Madruccio, were as- 
sembled by the legates, and addressed by the chief president 
upon the readiest way of terminating the council, since the 

x 



306 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



main business had been despatched, the sacraments and 
reformation; and his holiness was desirous of that con- 
summation, because, while the council was in existence, many 
accidents might occur which would create great disturbance. 
The French cardinal urged a speedy close of the council, 
from the necessities of France, for the sake of which country 
eminently the council was convoked * ; and because it had 
been determined in a meeting of the king and the states, 
that if the council did not terminate, a national council 
should be called, the evils of which might easily be anti- 
cipated. The rest agreed in this view of the case, and 
seemed moved to it by the contemplated possibility of 
the death, either of the pope or the emperor, and the 
dangers which would follow. The manner of attaining 
their object, upon which they concluded, was, to propose 
what was unfinished on the subject of reformation and 
the regulars : the doctrines remaining of purgatory, images, 
and indulgences, since they were sufficiently plain, and 
had been determined by former councils, might be ex- 
pedited without disputations, which were productive of ex- 
cessive delay ; and it would be enough to condemn some 
abuses upon the subjects. Classes and a deputation were 
accordingly provided to facilitate despatch. 

A congregation was held on the 15th of November, when 
an additional copy of the fourteen articles upon reformation 
was distributed, and Morone opened the meeting by ob- 
serving, that all which was necessary had been done, and 
even what pertained to doctrine ; but that the heretics, for 
whose cause the council was principally convened, became 
more obstinate every day, nor did any hope of their amend- 
ment remain. If more was not effected, it should be re- 
membered, that those who pursued perfection often lost what 
was good. Some matters of reform still remained, among 
which was the chapter of secular princes, reduced to a shorter 
form. This the legate felt himself pledged to bring for- 
ward, and therefore could not directly set aside ; he therefore 

* This was now the current language. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXV. 



307 



insinuated its pretermission by the observation, that the 
condition and state of the times required that many things 
should be left to the piety and religion of princes, whom, 
adds the president, we desire, in an especial manner, to be 
the defenders and executors of our decrees ; and when the 
fruit of the council was mature, it was the time for col- 
lecting it, lest by delay it should become corrupt. His 
holiness, who had convoked the synod for the good of the 
Christian republic, now, from the urgency of public affairs, 
wished for its close. The same was desired by most of the 
ambassadors; he therefore requested of the fathers to give 
their opinions with the utmost brevity, and to abstain from 
display and elongation. Lorraine supported him, and only 
desired two things ; a public confirmation of the proceedings 
of the council by his holiness, and that the French bishops 
should return to their country, armed with dispensations 
and absolutions, for the purpose of conveying consolation 
and joy to their flocks *. The rest of the fathers performed 
their duty with unusual brevity, so much so as to draw 
upon themselves the charge of precipitation. Many were 
surprised that the emperor, who had always before favoured 
delay, was now so urgent for despatch, that it was suspected 
his conduct was the consequence of a stipulation with his 
holiness for the use of the cup in his ow n dominions. 

The votes of the fathers were finished on the fourteen 
chapters of reformation, on the 18th of November. The 
celebrated one respecting secular princes was the last. On 
this even the imperial ambassadors remonstrated with their 
sovereign, that if it were enforced, it w 7 ould produce great 
disturbances in the empire. The Venetian said the same. 
They all apply to his holiness, that that chapter should not 
only be omitted, but rescinded. His holiness, wishing for 

* Secundum est, ut concedatur omnibus episcopis, cum ad ecclesias suas 
redierint, ut possint usque ad certum diem dispensare in impedimentis ma- 
trimonii, et absolvere in foro poenitentiae in omnibus casibus, ut ita etiam 
ipsi consolationem et laetitiam animabus illis commissis possint afferre. 
What a picture of a courtier and a cardinal ! 

x2 



308 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563, 



nothing so much as the end of the council, readily assented, 
and sent letters to that purpose to the council, particularly 
repressing the zeal of those who were its chief advocates. 
The chapter was accordingly reduced to an unmeaning form, 
as it now stands *. 

A copy of the reformation respecting regulars and nuns, 
with six other chapters of general reformation, was supplied 
to the fathers. 

The votes on these subjects began on the 23d of No- 
vember, and finished in four days. 

On the 27th of November, the count de Luna, who had 
hitherto been quiet, opened his opposition to the plan of 
expedition, alleging, that the subjects yet remaining to be 
settled required from their importance deliberate and patient 
investigation. He added, that so much precipitation ap- 
peared unworthy of such an assembly as the present, and 
that he wished to understand the mind of his sovereign on 
the subject. He therefore begged that the next session 
might be deferred to at least two days after Christmas. He 
could not obtain the assent of the legates and others, who 
wondered he should have delayed so grave a proposal so 
long. 

On the 28th of November, a number of the ambassadors 
and fathers met the legates at the house of Morone, who 
laid before them the state of the council. Lorraine repre- 
sented that he was called to France by important affairs, and 
the bishops of that nation must speedily follow ; if therefore 
their presence in the council were of any value, the session 
should not be deferred ; and he thought the best course for 
the subjects, of doctrine in particular, was to determine them 
by short decrees, which would afford no pretence for con- 
troversy. The ambassadors of Germany did not object to 
the day of session, but desired that, Indulgences, which were 
the chief cause of the defection of Luther, should be con- 
sidered ; they, however, preferred that the subject should be 

* Quare fuit id caput in generalem qnandam formulam, et fere inanem 
verborum sonum redactum, prout hodie se habet, ac ah omnibus fere pro- 
batum. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXV. 



309 



omitted altogether, than that the session should be deferred. 
The remainder of the congregation answered, that the 
council should terminate, and that decrees should be 
drawn up upon Purgatory, and Images with the veneration 
of saints. 

Under the 29th of November the historian relates, that 
the count de Luna assembled all the Spanish prelates at 
his house, and imposed upon them an oath of strict secresy, 
which produced extreme displeasure, and a suspicion that 
the object of the meeting was to throw impediments in the 
way of the termination of the council, because it would, as 
proposed, be done without the privity and authority of their 
king. 

On the next day the count assembled the Italians subject 
to Philip, particularly the Neapolitan, to the number of 
about forty, and to them he explained his reasons against 
the closing of the council. They answered, that, as the 
French were leaving, the opportunity of such an occur- 
rence should not be lost, and that fatal consequences 
might be apprehended from not so doing. He thought 
the terrors vain. The meeting continued to a late hour of 
the night. 

News at this time arrived from Rome, that his holiness 
was dangerously ill. It was confirmed by additional letters 
to the legates. The disease was catarrh attended with 
fever, and prostration of strength. Every one was greatly 
dejected by this intelligence, particularly IVlorone, who 
anticipated the consequences of the decease of the pontiff. 
The count de Luna alone seemed to be exempt, from such 
feelings and alarm, and, rather inopportunely, chose that 
season for pressing the dismissal of the celebrated clause, 
proponentibus legatis*. The legates in this emergency, on 
the 1st of December, called together the fathers, to consult 
whether it might not be advisable to put an immediate end 

* This fact is mentioned by Sei vantio, who is far more rhetorical and 
pathetic on the subject of this alarm than Paleotto ; and he treats the whole 
case as an illustrious instance of divine and miraculous interposition. 



310 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



to the council without waiting for further news from the city, 
which they anticipated must be fatal. They dreaded the 
death of the pontiff, pending the council, which would 
create all the disputes respecting the right of the council to 
elect a successor — disputes which would agitate all the poli- 
tics of Rome and of all Europe. All the ambassadors agreed 
upon the necessity of holding the session as early as possible, 
and even the old opponent of the measure, although rather 
grudgingly, yet assented. 

On the 2d of December, the legates assembled the am- 
bassadors and more than fifty prelates of the different 
nations, and advised with them what was best to be done ; 
who all, with the exception of a few Spaniards and three 
Italians, agreed, that the council should finish with the pro- 
posal of such matters as were in a state of preparation. On 
the same day a general congregation was convened, to con- 
sider of the decrees of purgatory, and of images. Of indul- 
gences, since they were a subject of considerable difficulty, 
and involving questions, it was thought best to have no 
examination; although some fathers continued to desire, 
that some slight notice should be taken of them, lest they 
should appear to be altogether passed over in silence*. 

On the evening of the same day a congregation again met ; 
the decrees which were in readiness were read. These the 
president commended as the result of great labour and 
ability ; and regretted, that the necessity in which the council 
was, prohibited so deliberate a consideration of them as had 
been customary. He then requested the opinions of the 
fathers in as few words as possible. All assented, except a 
few Spaniards, who answered, that the subject demanded 
more examination, and some others, who objected to the 
decree of purgatory, as unworthy of the council ; and some 
expressions were altered. The other decrees were then read ; 

* De Indulgentiis autem, cum materia nimis difficilis, et quaestionibus 
implicata videretur, interim supersedendum putant ; quamvis adhuc Patres 
multi desiderarunt, ut de ea obiter aliquid attingeretur, ne prorsus omissa 
silentio videretur. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXV. 



311 



and the cardinal of Lorraine made a speech on some of the 
ecclesiastical reformations of no great importance. The 
other fathers answered in few words, as in their notes. When 
the opinions were concluded, Morone announced, that, if 
there were no objection, the session should take place on the 
next day, and it was possible it might extend to the next ; 
for much time would be occupied in reading the decrees 
under Paul III, and Julius III. He repeated, that, in his 
opinion, the termination of the council was necessary in con- 
sideration of possible events, which might render all the 
labours of the council null. Then the French were obliged 
to return to their country ; and in the parliament there it 
had been resolved, that if the council in this place were not 
finished, a national one would be assembled. The fathers 
should likewise consider the evils, which would follow the 
death of the pontiff, for whose recovery it was their duty 
earnestly to pray; on the session of the morrow, therefore, if 
they were so pleased, deliberation should be had concerning 
the termination of the council. All, except fourteen, as- 
sented ; and more decrees were read. In the midst of the 
business, which with unexpected unanimity was protracted 
to a late hour, letters arrived from the city bringing the 
joyful news of the incipient recovery of his holiness : all were 
rejoiced at it, and took courage to proceed in their work. 

On the 3d of December, at an early hour, the twenty- 
fifth and concluding session of the council commenced, and 
the decrees were published with almost universal consent. 
The legates, although determined upon closing the council, 
yet finding it impossible to get through all the business which 
they had before them, published from the pulpit, that the 
session would be continued and finished on the next day. 
After divine service, the legates employed themselves at 
home in preparing for the transactions of the morrow, and 
every thing was completed. Among the preparations was 
the decree of indulgences, to any definition of which Morone 
was averse, partly because he doubted whether it would not 
give an occasion of disputation and of protracting matters. 



312 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



and partly thinking it better that so important a subject, 
presenting so many points of controversy, should be entirely 
omitted than that it should be slightly treated. The cardinal 
of Lorraine, however, with many other prelates, was anxious 
that some mention should be made of indulgences, lest the 
error of the heretics should be more confirmed, if they should 
see that nothing was done about them ; and likewise, because 
this very omission alone might easily be made a pretence 
for convoking a fresh council. Therefore, on that very night 
a decree concerning indulgences was composed, and early 
the next morning before the church was opened, the am- 
bassadors and very many of the prelates were called together, 
and before them were read all the decrees which were to be 
promulgated in the session, together with this of indulgences, 
respecting which, openly and before all, cardinal Morone 
professed that he was not satisfied that any thing should 
be defined. Lorraine, however, Madruccio, all the ambas- 
sadors, and other prelates, replied and expressed their ap- 
probation of the form then delivered. There were, however, 
withdrawn from it some words, which expressly prohibited 
the paying of any certain sum of money for indulgences, 
not even when what are called suspensions are given ; and 
these words were withdrawn in favour of the count de Luna, 
because they appeared to be industriously selected to desig- 
nate the Spanish cruzada*. 

On the 4th of December the session was concluded, and 
at the same time an end was put to the council. There 
were promulgated on it the following decrees — of Indul- 
gences, of choice of food, of an Index of books, and of a 
Catechism. We may add, from Servantio, and, indeed, 
from the decrees themselves, the reformation of the Breviary 

* The whole [of this curious passage I have translated as closely and 
literally as I was able. The latter part of the original I will transcribe for 
several reasons : in |eo tunc detracta quaedam verba, quae prohibebant ex- 
presse ne pro exequendis indulgentiis certae taxarentur summae, ne cum 
darentur illae quas suspensiones vocant ; fueruntque haec verba sublata, in 
gratiam Comitis de Luna agentis, quod videbantur haec de iudustria ita ex- 
pressa ad notandum Cruciatam Hispanam. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXV. 



313 



and Missal. iVfterwards were read all the decrees relative 
to faith published under Paul III and Julius III. Assent 
was then given by the fathers to the question whether they 
were pleased that the council should close,, and the confirma- 
tion of it by his holiness be requested* ; and the chief pre- 
sident dismissed them in peace. The cardinal of Lorraine, 
justly enough denominated the French pope, led the con- 
cluding acclamations, which ended with three anathemas, 
which were probably multiplied into three times three, loud 
and deepf. 

* There were three dissentients : tribus duntaxat exceptis, as it is 
recorded in the three editions of the Canons and Decrees of Antwerp, 
Cologne, and Louvain, in 1564. But the reader is not to suppose that this 
dissent arose from any zeal for the independence and authority of the 
council. Quite the contrary : it was, that the pontiff might not by this 
confirmation more strictly bind himself, as some of the enactments of the 
council did not perfectly please him. This is the representation of Sarpi, 
viii, 83, who names the cardinals of St. Clement and Alessandrino (after- 
wards Pius V,) as the dissentients. Servantio records only one : but as his 
testimony is of value, we will produce it. Parole del primo legato, per le 
quali da fine al concilio con la santa benedittione, et dice ite in pace. Pla- 
cuit omnibus finem huic sacro concilio imponi, confirmationemque a S mo - 
Domino nostro peti, uno duntaxat excepto, qui earn confirmationem se non 
petere dixit. Ideoque nos, apostolicae sedis legati, et prassidentes eidem 
sacro concilio finem imponimus, confirmationem quamprimum a S mo - D. 
N no - petemus. Vos autem Patres Ill mi - et R mi - post gratias Deo actas, ite 
in pace. Allequali parole tutti con una voce et con una allegrezza rispo- 
sero. Amen. Pallavicino affirms this one to be the archbishop of Granada? 
and that the three in the Antwerp and other editions arose from a mistake 
of individuals of his own nation opposing the archbishop, xxiv, 8, 8. At 
any rate, the statement in the accredited edition, and all that followed it, 
of the Canons and Decrees, is convicted of falsehood by the recorded words 
of the president himself. 

f In the maledictory code of Rome, there are three degrees of compari- 
son — the Minor Excommunication, the Major Excommunication, and Ana- 
thema. Notandum quod triplex est excommunicatio, videlicet, minor, ma- 
jor, et anathema. Pontificale Romanum, part, iii, tit. xvii, Ordo excom- 
municandi, &c. Catalani, the annotator upon the Pontificale, says that the 
last degree only differs from the immediately preceding one in the greater 
solemnity of its form ; and he admits that some of those forms are very hor- 
rible, (valde horrifici.) He refers to some instances, particularly the cus- 
tom in some churches on that occasion of dragging the cross along the 
ground ; and this he reprobates. The principal ceremonies are, casting to 
the ground, or quenching in water, lighted torches, and pronouncing a 



314 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



c Here/ says the auditor, at the close of his interesting 
and valuable Acts, e I cannot adequately describe with what 
f heartfelt joy everyone was elated, and sincerely, as well as 
' gratefully, acknowledged God as the author of so many 
' benefits. I myself, in the very midst of the session, have 
1 seen many venerable prelates shedding tears of joy ; and 
e individuals, who before appeared distant, mutually congra- 
( tulating one another on the occasion. But when the accla- 
e mations took place, which to that hour were novel and un- 
' expected to many, the admiration, applause, and joy which 
e they excited, were immense and universal: not a person 
' was there who did not, in his countenance, his words, and 
' his whole frame, express the highest exultation, praising 

* God, to whom be honour, strength, and glory for ever and 

* ever ! ,# 

string of curses, including, or derived from the 109th psalm, (as we reckon,) 
with other passages of scripture; and the practice is justified on this ground. 
But what are the objects of the divine malediction, and what those of Rome ! 
I have a form of Anathema used by the inquisitors of Valladolid, so late as 
the year 1772, attested by the regular official and autograph signatures. Iti& 
perfectly Satanic, and is used even with respect to those who fail to denounce 
the specified crimes of others. There is a form exceeding this in atrocity 
recorded in Historia Ecc. Evan, in Hungaria, Halberstadt, 1830, pp. 302 — 
304, and copied with accompanying remarks in the Protestant Journal for 
1831, pp. 536 — 539. The date of the sentence is 1 632. There is one verse in 
the very psalm so iniquitously abused, which, as it might be the prayer, 
may be the hope and comfort of those against whom the curse causeless is 
uttered, " Though they curse, yet bless Thou." 

* Ubi vero ad acclamationes ventum est — tunc ingens omnium admiratio, 
plausus, leetitiaque exorta est : nemo erat, qui non vultu, verbis, totoque 
corpore, summam hilaritatem significant, Deum laudantes, &c. Servantio 
is not less warm. After describing himself as transported into Paradise by 
the scene, the fathers, he writes, si partirono facendo una grande allegrezza 
baciandosi, et abbracciandosi stretti, et molti molte lagrime gettando per 
gran letitia, dicendo di continuo, sia il nome del Signore Dio benedetto, che 
ha pur finalmente dato lieto fine a questo sacrosanto concilio, &c. The joy 
of his holiness was more tempered, according to Adriani. Rimasene il Papa 
lieto, ma con qualche occulto sdegno de' Principi maggiori, essendosi forse 
paruto che con 1' occasione del concilio lo havessero con molta arte indotto a 
concedere alcune cose fuor della sua volunta, e della propria riputazione ; 
ed a prometterne di quelle, alle quali per altro tempo non si sarebbe lasciato 
indurre cosi leggiermente. 1st. xvii, end. 



1563.] 



SESSION XXV. 



315 



Servantio has given the numbers present thus : — aposto- 
lic legates, 4 ; cardinals, 2 ; all the ambassadors ; patri- 
archs, 3 ; archbishops, 25 ; bishops, 168 ; proctors of the 
absent prelates, 7 ; generals of the orders, 7*. 

It cannot be said that the decrees of this session (for 
canons there were none) distilled as the dew : they fell with 
the heavy abundance of a clearing shower. Extended as 
were the statutes of the preceding session, they were far ex- 
ceeded by the dimensions of this. All the remaining neces- 
sary business was to be despatched ; and, with the most pre- 
cipitate and wholesale carelessness, the various, and some of 
them., doubtless, important subjects, were collected together, 
and put into the form of laws for the future direction of the 
universal church. The object which filled the field of view 
to the fathers and the most holy father, and excluded every 
other object, was, how to escape the evils and dangers in 
which the continuance of the council enveloped them. The 
illness of the pope was a most opportune event in this view; 
and the knowledge that it operated in this way was probably 
one great means of his recovery^. The abundant harvest, 
however, of conciliar enactment would provide an ample 
field for theological discussion, if that were quite our pro- 
vince. But we cannot resist the invitation to a few desul- 
tory strictures. 

One of the most remarkable articles in the decrees 
of this session is the 19th chapter of that of Reformation, 
where, under pretence of condemning and discouraging the 
practice of duelling, the most insolent invasion of the secular 
power of princes is substantiated. 

But the most important, if not most remarkable, articles 
which were the subject of enaction, are those doctrinal ones 

* Le Plat has no list, and I do not know of any other. In consequence 
of a commend under pain of excommunication, to that purpose, 255 persons 
affixed their subscriptions before they left Trent : they are given in form in 
Le Plat's edition of the Canons, &c. Ex edit. Rom. cone, Trid., ann. 1763. 

f Pallavicino, xxiv, 9, 1, observes, that the news of the actual termina- 
tion of the council assisted the recovery, that is, the complete recovery of the 
pontiff". The pro-sped of the event would of course tend the same way. 



316 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563. 



which so grievously terrified the imaginations of the fathers, 
and which they hardly dared to look at, much less handle. 

The purifying flames of purgatory may be left to their 
own naked destitution of support, either from scripture or 
legitimate tradition : and there are abundant defenders of 
the truth who have shown this. 

Of the allied subject of Indulgences, I first observe, that a 
sound and able Romanist, our own bishop Fisher, has ad- 
mitted them, in their modern sense, to have arisen from the 
fiction just mentioned, and as a remedy of its terrors*. But 
without entering upon the subject at large, which would be 
as unsuitable as it is superfluous, something may be suggested 
on the subject in addition to what has slightly been observed 
before, in the form of inquiry, and upon points not perfectly 
agreed upon, as was sensitively felt, among Romanists them- 
selves — Whether the term indulgence, in its modern accep- 
tation, be identical with the primitive or antient? What 
may be the source from which the modern indulgences of the 
church of Rome are derived ? What is the fund or treasury, 
and how supplied ? Is it the infinite merits of Christ com- 
pleted by the finite merits of the saints ? Do the copious 
streams which flow from this reservoir return to it by a cir- 
cuitous channel, and thus preserve it not only from exhaus- 
tion, but diminution ? How, and to what extent, do they 
avail, as personally to the possessor, by whatever means ob- 
tained, or to others, and particularly the dead, or those in 
purgatory ; and what is to be understood by particular days 
being appointed for drawing souls out of that state ? Whe- 
ther in the forms of indulgence when the words culpa et 
poena are used, there is any distinct meaning in the former 
particularly, or whether it be not inserted knowingly and 

* The passage is generally, I might perhaps say universally, so vaguely 
and unsatisfactorily referred to, that having formerly been put to a difficulty 
myself to find it, and having now the book and place before me, I will here 
state it for the public good. The reference is commonly Art. 18, contra Lu- 
therum. There are several works of Fisher contra Lutherum. The book 
is, Assertionis Lutherane confutatio per Rev. Fat. J. Roffensem Episc. My 
edition is, Farisiis, 1533. 



1563] 



SESSION XXV. 



317 



wilfully to deceive, and when explained is explained by ne- 
gation? What is meant by the elongated indulgences 
extending to hundreds and thousands of years, as those of 
the seven Roman churches, the devotional books entitled 
Horse B. M arise, and tablets in churches ? What is to be 
understood by the Taxse Pcenitentiarise, so carefully unac- 
knowledged and un condemned — such a scandal to the virtu- 
es 

ous Claude d'Espense, and to Dr. Milner of Wolverhamp- 
ton? What explanation is to be given of the deluge of 
indulgences, by which all the religious institutions, all the 
orders, particularly the society of Jesus, all acts, all persons 
publicly allied with the religion of Rome, are covered ? How 
far are the nominal conditions of indulgences enforced? How 
does an express licence for future transgression differ from 
an assurance that absolution may be obtained on easy terms 
subsequently to transgression, as often as repeated, and that 
a discharge in full may be commanded, on profession of peni- 
tence, in the article of death ? And, to come to a close, 
long before we need, does an indulgence, after all, mean any- 
thing, and what ? Answers in one sense satisfactory to a 
Romanist may easily and fully be obtained from the Bulla- 
rium Romanum, throughout, and almost in every constitu- 
tion ; in the Mirabilia Roma?, in all languages and of all edi- 
tions ; in Amort, a Regular Canon of Lateran, &c. de Origine, 
&c. Indulgentiarum, &c. Accurata. Notitia, Venetiis, 1738, 
Superiorum Permissu, ac Privilegio* ; in the honest J. B. 
Thiers, Dr. in Theology, Traite des Superstitions qui regar- 
dent les Sacremens, the whole of the fourth volume, where 
the reader will see detailed the acknowledged and unre- 
moved embarrassments of the reputable chancellor of Paris, 
Gerson, with respect both to Poena et Culpa, and the cen- 
tenary and millenary pardonsf. These are all true Roman 
authorities. 

* See particularly pp. 180-4. Add Onuphrius Panvinius, and Attilius 
Serranus, on the Seven Churches. 

f Even Dr. Challoner, in his Catholic Instructed, may be added ; 
although, with an immoral insinuation, he endeavours to throw doubt upon 



318 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[1563- 



Of images and the veneration of saints and angels we 
may observe, that it is not necessary, in order to substan- 
tia existence of elongated indulgences. But why should Romanists be so 
nice on this point, when, by the simple process of accumulation, indulgences 
of moderate length may reach the extent of one of any dimensions, particu- 
larly in the case of long livers, and frequent ofFenders ? The letter which 
was promised in a former page is presented from MS. for the first time by 
Lagomarsini in his edition of Poggiano's Epistles, and in a note at p. 234 
of vol. iii. The letter is to cardinal Borromeo, and dated July 26, 1563, 
and the following extract is given. Un' altra cosa diremo con questo, che 
dal tempo, che si venne qua ad aprire il concilio, gia 28 (18 ?) mesi, fin' 
adesso si e costumato dalli legati nostri predecessori, e poi da noi ancora, per 
seguitare 1' uso loro, di far pronuntiare nelle messe solenni V indulgenza 
quando di 25, quando di 50, quando di 100 anni, e perche qui non si trova, 
che di cid sia spetiale facolta, desideramo, a fine che il popolo non ne resti 
ad un certo modo defraudato, che nostro signore si degni di confirmare le 
passate con una benedittione, e per 1' avennire per un breve concedere quel 
tanto, che a sua beatitudine parera: benche, per non fare novita, desidera- 
ressimo continuar nel modo principiato, mentre staremo qui. The note is 
on a letter of the cardinal of Augsburgh, dated in February, 1563, where 
he laments that " the riches of divine goodness, an indulgence of our most 
holy lord, was not published," (divitias divinse benignitatis, id est sanctis- 
simi domini nostri indulgentiam non esse pervulgatam.) We have seen 
instances less redundant of this species of benignity before ; but why I 
produce this richer bounty, amounting to 100 years, is not simply for its 
superior value, but to show, that in certain meridians, Eoman catholics are 
not so nice and reserved in speaking of these things, as in others— they 
betray no symptoms of being shocked at them. 

That the reader may have all together, I will here add, what he will not 
easily find elsewhere, the list of indulgences of various sorts, Plenary, and 
extending specifically to ten, and twenty, years, &c, which has already been 
adverted to, and is found in the MS. copy of the Declarationes Cong. Cone. 
Trid., at the end of the second series of the sessions, or about the middle of 
the third volume. 

1°. A v ciascheduno, che portara Corona, Rosario, Croce, Medaglie, 6 ima- 
gine benedetta, e dira V officio del Signore, o della Madonna, 6 la terza 
parte del Rosario, o sentira messa, predica, d digiunera, visitara, o 
accompagnara il santissimo Sacramento, fara elimosina, amministrera 
sacramenti, 6 fard altra funtione Parochiale, 6 Sacerdotale, 6 fara qual- 
sivoglia atto di mortificatione, ancorche alcuna di dette attioni sia fatta, 
pregando per 1' estirpatione dell' heresie, consegua per ciascheduna di 
dette cose la remissione della terza parte delli suoi peccati, et essendo 
confessato, e communicato, consegua indulgenza plenaria, e remissione 
di tutti suoi peccati. 

2°. A' ciascheduno, ch' andara alia Dottrina, fara oratione mentale, F esame 
della coscienza, corregera chi bestemmia, giura, 6 dice parole oscene, 6 



1563] 



SESSION XXV. 



319 



tiate the charge of idolatry in this practice against the 
church of Rome, to prove, that the object of such veneration, 
or worship, call it relative or not, is venerated or worshipped, 



second commandment of the decalogue. It is not necessary 



although he be not intoxicated so often as is possible. And 

fara la Disciplina per un miserere, portera il cilicio, 6 visiters. gV hos- 
pedali, d alcun Infermo, 6 accompagnera li morti alia sepoltura, d la 
sera dira il De profundis, 6 tre Pater noster, e 3 Ave Maria per le 
Anime del Purgatorio. o sentira sermoni, 6 fara paci, 6 simili, ancorche 
alcuna per obligo, e pregara per 1' esaltatione di Santa Madre Chiesa, 
consegua per ciascuna di dette cose dieci anni d' indulgenza, et essendo 
confessato, e cotnmunicato indulgenza Plenaria, e remissione di tutti li 
suoi peccati. 

3°. A' chi fara reverenza divotamente a Croci, o Imagini, o in qualsi- 
voglia bora del giorno, si accommandara a Dio, 6 alia Madonna, 6 al 
suo Angelo Custode, al Santo, cli' havera in devotione, 6 rendera 
gratie a Sua Divina Maesta de' beneficii recevuti, o nel principio di 
qualsivoglia buona opera, d in tempo di qualsivoglia tentatione, fara 3 
volte il segno della Croce, 6 dira 3 volte Deus adjutorium meum intende, 
6 fara qualche opera di pieta, guadagneraper ogn' una dieci anni. 

4o. Ogni volta cbe dolendosi de' suoi peccati fara proposito di confessarsi 
a suo tempo, guadagni dieci anni d' Indulgenza, e facendo 1' esame della 
coscienza, consegua la remissione della terza parte de' suoi peccati, et 
effettualmente confessandosi, e pregando per il felice stato di Santa 
Chiesa, guadagni il doppio. 

5°. Ogni volta, cbe si confessera, 6 communichera, 6 dira Messe per devo- 
tione, 6 per obligo, e preghera per 1' esaltatione di Santa Chiesa, e per 
F estirpatione dell' heresie, consegua Indulgenza Plenaria, e remissione 
di tutti li suoi peccati, e pregando per le Anime de' morti, liberi ogni 
volta un' Anima del Purgatorio per modum suffragii A sua intentione. 

6°. Chi fara dire tre Messe di morti in uno, o piu giorni, liberi dodici volte 
1' anno per ogni volta un' Anima del Purgatorio per modum suifragii a 
sua intentione. 





320 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



[L563. 



it is not necessary, for the same purpose, that the rites and 
forms of idolatry should be strictly the same as those of 
the heathens: it is sufficient, that there is a substantial 
identity : it makes no essential difference in the instance of 
the drunkard, whether he offend by simple fermented liquor 
or by ardent spirits. There are three important historical 
points on this subject — In the primitive times, Christian 
writers condemned image-worship altogether, and the hea- 
thens never reproached them with any practical self-contra- 
diction; when, in later times, professed Christians were 
guilty of the practice, the heathens did reproach them with 
it ; and the heathens vindicated their own practice by pre- 
cisely the same arguments as those now used by Romanists 
■ — they worshipped their idols only mediately.*. 

The ultimate formation and publication by his own 
authority of the Index of prohibited books, was committed 
to the pontiff. It is not likely, that the author should have 
much remaining to say on this subject. And yet there 
is a use which the index subserves, not particularly noticed 
by him, and not always, although rather obvious, consi- 
dered as it ought to be. If no such supremely authen- 
tic catalogue existed, upon any charge against the church 
of Rome, of doctrines or forms, such for instance as those 
highly objectionable ones, which appear in Cassander's 
Consultatio, under the head de Meritis et Intercessione 
Sanctorum, where certain blasphemous hymns to the Virgin 
Mary are referred to, it might be answered by the repre- 
sentatives of the Roman church, — true, these are perfectly 
unjustifiable excesses, and our church, instead of sanctioning, 
utterly disavows and condemns them. But here is a book 

* See Whitby's Tract of the Error of the Church of Rome discovered 
by the worship of Images. I refer to the Tract in its original form, but 
believe it is in Gibson's collection. But Faber's Difficulties of Romanism, 
last edition, and Garbett's Nullity of the Roman Faith, may stand in the 
place of every thing on this, and all the main points of controversy with 
papists. I ought not, however, to omit the triumphs of Wake and 
Stillingfleet, in their various works on the Idolatry of the church of Rome. 
The latter, in particular, has driven the enemy from all his posts. 



1563.] 



SKSSION XXV. 



321 



deliberately and repeatedly, up to the present time, repub- 
lished with constant additions,, — the very plan, not only 
most suitable for, but on every ground most urgently calling 
for, the expression and publication of such disclaimer and 
condemnation ; and yet such documents and customs, neces- 
sarily notorious and known, pass, not only without censure, 
but without notice. If the church of Rome had employed 
her best ingenuity to devise by what act she could most 
effectually bind upon her own back the responsibility of such 
iniquities, she could not have adopted one more perfectly 
successful. 

The reformation of the Breviary and Missal was likewise 
committed to his holiness' s care. Although there was com- 
plaint enough, and with justice, of the atrocious corruptions 
of the Roman formularies of public worship, which had 
already produced a purification too searching for Rome in 
the breviary of cardinal Quignon, the partial and confined 
adoption of that reformed liturgy, left it still in Germany a 
grievance, that the liturgical books were full of foolish and 
apocryphal matter. In the Consultatio of the emperor Fer~ 
dinand on the subject of reformation, prepared in March, 
1562, and intended for the consideration of the council, but 
not read, for which an apology was made, the twelfth article 
runs as follows : Cum negari nequeat temporum vitio multa 
inepta, apocrypha, parumque ad sincerum cultum per- 
tinentia in cantiones et preces Ecclesise irrepsisse, sacro 
Concilio enitendum erit, ut libri Missales, Graduates, 
Antiphonarii, Agendee, et Breviaria religiose et diligenter 
recognoscantur, et repurgentur, utque nihil in Ecclesia le- 
gendum, canendum, orandum, seu populo proponendum 
permittatur, quod non sit ex divinis Uteris desumptum, aut 
hisce omnino consentaneum, prout vel ex Sanctis Patribus, 
vel probatis historiis ecclesiasticis demonstrari possit, prout 
antiquis Conciliis cautum esse cognoscitur. There is more 
about the singing*. Had it not been for this secular re- 

* Schelhornii Amcen. Eccles. i. pp. 490, et seq., particularly 533-4. Le 
Plat has copied the document in his fifth volume, and inserted from Ray- 
naldus the apology for not reading it, at pp. 328-9. 

Y 



322 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



monstrance, in all probability nothing would have been 
done ; and in consequence of it how little was done ! 

Of the Catechism, for which the council provided in the 
same way, I have said something in another place *. 

At the last session of the council a sermon was delivered 
by Girolamo Ragazzone, a Venetian, which was much com- 
mended f , and is generally postfixed to the editions of the canons 
and decrees of the council. He, as well as other panegyrists 
and apologists down toCampian and Butler, have endeavoured 
to persuade the world, that this last was among the purest 
and most beneficial that was ever assembled J. We are 

* Life and Pontificate of Saint Pius V, &c, pp. 38, 9. 
| It is called by Servantio una bellissima oratione. 

J C. Butler, Esq. in an Appendix to the end of the first volume of his 
Historical Memoirs, &c. on the Council of Trent, observes, ' that a con- 
( siderable proportion of the prelates, by whom the council was attended, 
' were distinguished by learning, virtue, and enlightened zeal for religion, 
' has never been denied. Perhaps no civil or religious meeting ever pos- 
{ sessed a greater assemblage of moral, religious, and intellectual endowment.' 
He proceeds to show, from the acknowledgment of Courayer, that 
' several excellent regulations were made,' &c. Let us hear another Roman 
Catholic, Dr. Alex. Geddes, speaking on the same subject. ' Some few of 
' those prelates were, for the time, learned, aud most of them virtuous, or at 
' least pious, men. Nor can it be denied, that among several trifling, and 
4 some eventually pernicious regulations, they also made many useful ones, 
' and would have undoubtedly made many more, if they had not been 
1 cramped by the pope's legates, supported by a firm phalanx of transalpine 
' bishops, and a subtle crew of scholastic divines, of whom the greater part 
' were friars, devoted to the Roman see, and ever ready to defend its most 
' extravagant claims.' And so on. Letter to Right Rev. John Douglass, 
Bishop of Centurise, and V. A. in the London District, Appendix, p. 54. 
Note. Mr. Butler's usual method of defending what is indefensible is some- 
what of this sort. The man, it is true, has been convicted, by undeniable 
evidence, of robbery and murder, aggravated by circumstances of atrocious 
and wanton barbarity ; nor have there been any subsequent indications of 
compunction. It ought not, however, to be forgotten, that he was a person 
of very fascinating manners, and the life of every convivial party to which 
he was admitted ; nor would he, in all probability, have been concerned in 
the unfortunate transaction, had he not been overcome by singular and 
almost irresistible temptation. 

There is much artifice in the general List, subjoined to the editions of the 
Canons and Decrees of the Council, of the Prelates and others who attended 
it. The last column designates the country of each. That of Italy is 
subdivided into almost the minutest portions imaginable— evidently for no 



1563.] 



SESSION XXV. 



323 



content with the more sober and historical statements to be 
found in the authorities which have been mainly and almost 
exclusively cited in the preceding memoirs. And when the 
reader has perused the testimony of eye-witnesses and par- 
ties, of leaders themselves, unexceptionable, and even favour- 
able to their subject as they are, let him honestly say, (with- 
out denying considerable exception, but smothered and 
quenched,) whether, in the whole compass of history, any 
legislative assembly, the farthest possible remote from reli- 
gion of any kind or degree, can be pointed out, in which 
more of exclusively secular motives and objects, more in- 
terested policy, more immoral and dishonourable intrigue, 
more flagrant injustice towards the party devoted to sup- 
pression, and more violent and indecorous internal conten- 
tion were exhibited, than in this professedly religious convo- 
cation of all the spiritual wisdom and piety of Christendom, 
arrogating to itself the peculiar direction of the Holy Spirit, 
and undertaking to enact and issue laws, both for the de- 
fence and guidance of the universal church, and for the 
correction or condemnation of its enemies. 

other purpose than to disguise the disproportionate and extravagant supe- 
riority in number of the Italians. , 



APPENDIX. 



Page 69. — Colloquy of Ratisbon in 1546. 

Some account of this religious assembly, bearing so sensibly, as 
all the national ones did, on the operations and authority of the 
Tridentine council, may prove acceptable to the reader. A papal 
relation of it was published in the year after its meeting under the 
title Actorum Colloquii Ratisponensis ultimi, quomodo inchoatum, 
ac desertum, quseq; in eodem extemporali oratione inter partes 
disputata fuerint, verissima narratio. Jussu Cae. Ma. conscripta 
et edita. Lovanii Apud Martinum Rotarium, Anno 1547. Cum 
gratia et privilegio. It is a small volume, unpaged, and apparently 
but little known. As might be expected, its contents are distin- 
guished by the sectarian partiality of the communion with which 
it originated ; and it is accordingly entitled to very moderate con- 
fidence. The principal disputants were, the Spaniard Malvenda 
and the better-known Bucer ; and the superiority is of course 
made to appear to remain with the former. Happily, other ac- 
counts are in existence. The laborious and accurate Seckendorf 
has detailed their contents, Comm. de Luth. lib. iii, sect. 35, 
§ cxxxii, although he seems to have been ignorant of the work 
mentioned above, at least has made no mention of it. The pro- 
testant narrations are in German, and probably not less verce than 
the verissima. The discussion commenced in January of 1546, 
and was on the subject of Justification— a subject which admits 
of much sophistic misrepresentation and evasion. One of the 
earliest and most remarkable features in it is, the stipulation 
insisted upon by the Roman party, that nothing should be binding 
upon them which they might assert inconsistent with apostolic tra- 
dition, or the decrees of the church ; and that, if anything through 
error or imprudence escaped them, of this description, it should be 
considered null and unsaid — an eminently prudent precaution, by 
which they effectually secured themselves against the effect of any 



326 COUNCIL OF TRENT. 

concession which the force of truth might extort ; and by it they 
virtually acknowledged, that the whole matter of discussion was 
prejudged and predetermined, and that the exhibition of debate 
was perfect mockery. We might almost imagine this was an 
invention of the protestants, did we not read in plain letters, and 
in the little book, these words : — Duo se (the catholics, as they 
call themselves) interim pro se collegisq; suis testata facere. 
Primum, nullum dictum suum collegarumve in hoc congressu 
quomodocunque elatum, ejusmodi fore, ut ejus sententia et asser- 
tione velint sacris scripturis, aut apostolicis traditionibns, aut 
Ecclesiee Catholicae decretis adversare, sed si quid tale vel errore 
vel imprudentia exciderit, pro irrito ac non dicto haberi. The rest 
substantially agrees with the account of the Lutheran historian, 
particularly as to the contents of the imperial letters, in which 
one of the injunctions was, that of secresy : this occasioned the 
sudden dissolution of the meeting on the part of the protestants. 
In fact, they thought they saw, (and there is no reason to believe 
their vision false,) that the whole affair was intended as a trap, 
and if they fell into it, those who set it would attain their object. 
They complained, likewise, and with equal appearance of truth, of 
the arrogant and overbearing conduct of Malvenda, who knew, 
and behaved as if he knew, that the sword and power were on his 
side. It is the one and uniform object of Romanists, in all dis- 
cussions with their opponents, to force the breaking up of them 
in such a manner as to make it appear to be the act of the latter. 



Page 155. — Reserved Cases. 

As these are recognized and established by the 7th chapter and 
11th canon of the Doctrinal Decree of Penance in the 14th 
session of the council, and as, of course, they are still in force, 
although, on a recent occasion, the Irish Doctors of the papal 
communion assuming prelacy, thought fit virtually to deny the 
fact, it has appeared desirable to repeat in these pages a document 
of not very common occurrence. It is copied from a Quaternio 
(the usual form of printing such things in Rome) without a date, 
but, from historic and other circumstances, probably of the age of 
Leo X. I have two, evidently different, editions, but agreeing 
almost to a letter, and apparently of the same age. 



APPENDIX. 



327 



Casus Papales : Episcopates : et Abbatiales. 

Primus casus papalis est in illo qui percutit enormiter clericum : 
ut probatur. xvii. 9. ca. Si quis suadente. Si autem est levis 
percussio Epus absolvit : ut in ca. pervenit de sen. excom. 

2dus est in illo qui comburit ecclesias vel eas infringit qui 
postquam denunciatus est absolutio pertinet ad solum papam : ut 
de sen. excom. ca. conquesti. Item idem est de quocumque alio 
incendiario si forte excommunicetur vel publicetur: ut de sen 
excom. c. tua. 

3 tius est in illo qui falsificat litteras dni nostri pape vel falsis 
scienter utitur: de cri. fal. c. cura et c. falsariorum. 

4 tus est in illo qui excommunicatus est a delegato pape : qui 
non potest absolvi per aliquem nisi per papam vel pape delegatum: 
ut de sen. excom. c. significavit. 

5 tus est in illo qui panicipat cum excommunicato a papa : qui 
non potest absolvi nisi per papam : quod intelligitur de participa- 
tion in crimine propter quod talis est excommunicatus. 

6 tus est in illo qui participat in osculo vel aliis ei qui excom- 
municatus est per papam cum participantibus : quoniam iste talis 
ab illo debet absolvi qui sententiam tulit. 

7 mus est in clerico qui secundas nuptias benedixit : de secun. 
nup. c. i. Sed de isto casu an sit papalis vel episcopalis dubitant 
multi. 

8 vus est in persecutoribus cardinalium qui graves et multas 
penas incurrunt : ut habetur in c. felicis. de peni. li. vi. 

9 nus est in eo qui dat licentiam gravandi eos qui tulerunt sen- 
tentiam excois suspensionis vel interdicti : vel eos in suis personis 
vel bonis : ut de sen. excom. c. quicunque li. vi. 

10 mus est in eo qui corpus defuncti incendit vel decoquit pro 
ossibus transferendis : in extrava. Boni. viii. de test. 

11 mus est in inquisitoribus hereticorum si odio vel gra. amore 
vel lucro contra justitiam vel cosciam omiserint contra quempiam 
procedere : vel ipsam heresim alicui imponere : ut habetur in de. 
de here. c. multorum. 

12 mus est de religiosis qui absque speciali licentia parochialis 
presbyteri solemnisant matrimonia aut ministrant sacramenta : 
velut eucharistie aut extreme unctionis. Sufficit tamen licentia 
parochialis clerici etiam si nondum est sacerdos. Similiter etiam 
licentia illius vicarii qui gerit ordinariam curam illius ecclesie. 



328 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



Item sufficit licentia diocesani : ut no. ioan. de privi. reli. in de. 
Item excommunicati sunt religiosi qui excommunicatos a canone 
absolvunt in casibus non concessis : aut absolvunt a sententiis per 
syodalia statuta sive provincialia promulgatis aut absolvunt a pena 
et culpa : de penis c. si quis in de. 

13mus est de perse cutoribus eporu: vel qui eos faciunt exu- 
lari : seu procurant illos ad persequendum : vel carceri tradunt aut 
qui precipiunt hoc fieri : vel tribuunt auxilium consilium vel fa- 
vorem ad hoc faciendum. 

14tus est de religiosis vel clericis inducentibus ad fovendumvel 
promittendum vel jurandum de eligenda sepultura apud eos : vel 
ultimam jam electam ulterius non immutent : ut habetur in de. de 
penis, c. cupientes. 

15 tus est de his qui cogunt celebrari sibi in loco interdicto vel 
ad audiendum invocant excommunicatos vel interdictos vel prohi- 
bent eis ne moniti exeant : et de illis qui moniti non exeunt : ut 
habetur de sen. excom. c. gravis in de. 

16 tus est de his qui ferunt ferrum arma et equos ad impugnan- 
dum christianos : vel alia necessaria deferunt vel transmittunt seu 
galeas vel naves vendunt : vel in piraticis sarracenorum navibus 
gubernationem exercent : vel impendunt consilium et auxilium in 
dispendium terre sancte: ut habetur in de c. quorundam et c. ad 
liberandam. Et iste casus est papalis per extra. Boni. viii. que 
incipit contra illos. 

17 mus est in piratis qui ore papali excommunicantur > ut no. 
io. An. in c. excommunicationum de rap. 

18 vus est de eo qui absolutis propter mortis articulum vel aliud 
impedimentum ab eo a quo alias absolvi non poterat si cessante 
impedimento non se presentat cum se commode poterit ei a quo 
prius absolvi debebat : in eadem sententia qua prius ligatus erat 
ab homine vel alias a jure reincidit ipso facto ut in c. eos : de sen. 
ex li. vi. Pone exemplum de alio impedimento : videlicet ut egri- 
tudo vel inimicitie capitales : ut no. glo. in c. religioso de sen. 
excom. li. vi. Et iste casus est papalis si talis absolvendus erit a papa. 

19 nus est in absoluto a papa vel ejus penitentiario de ipsius 
speciali mandato : qui se debet alicujus conspectui presentare. 
Nam reincidit si hoc non faciat : ut in precedenti casu dictum est 
ut in dicto c. eos de sen. excom. li. vi. 

20 mus Imperator : rex : vel princeps : dux : marchio vel comes : 
aut baro : vel aliquis alius notabilis preeminentie dignitatis vel 



APPENDIX. 



329 



potestatis frater filius vel nepos ipsorum qui ad terminum vel 
imperpetuum nominatur eligitur vel assumitur in rectorem vel 
senatorem urbis Rome quocunque nomine vocetur ipsa rectoria : et 
quicunque alius qui ultra annum ad hujusmodi regimen assumitur 
preter apostolice sedis licentiam: omnes predicti in Iris ipsius 
sedis exprimendi et consentientes sue nominationi electioni vel 
assumptioni et eos taliter nominantes eligentes vel assumentes : et 
eis obedientes auxilium consilium, vel favorem dantes sunt ab- 
solvendi per papam : ut de elec. c. quod si quis li. vi. 
Unde versus 

Per papam : clerum feriens : falsarius : urens 
Solvitur : et quisquis audet cantare ligatus : 
Symon qui fuerit : nec fallit regula talis. 
Nota tamen quod non omnis percutiens clericum tenetur ire ad 
papam : ut patet per sequentes versus 

Percutiens clericum Rom am petat excipiuntur 
Ut puer : atque senex : egrotus : femina : pauper : 
Et claustralis : habens inimicos : et hostia servans. 
Finiunt casus papales. 

Incipiunt casus Episcopales. 
Sciant sacerdotes quod licet in privata penitentia pro occultis 
delictis regularem possunt imponere penitentiam : ut habetur in c. 
presbyteri xxvi. 9. i. Regulare enim est quod ipsi cognoscere 
possint de omnibus criminibus occultis: ut in ca. si peccaverit 
ii. 9. 1. Sunt tamen etiam certi casus de quibus ipsi cognoscere 
non possunt : immo de talibus criminibus oportet eos necessario 
remittere suos confitentes ad superiorem prelatum id est episco- 
pum. Et isti casus dicuntur episcopales : et sunt isti qui sequun- 
tur : quos no. Hosti. in summa de pe. et remis. § iiii. v. cui con- 
fitendum. Notat eos latius specu. in iv. parte circa fi. de pe. et re. 
§ vi. ver. privata autem. 

1 mus casus episcopalis est in illo qui cognovit carnaliter moni- 
alem consecratam vel non consecratam : virginem vel non virgi- 
nem : vel forte si mulier coivit cum religioso dum non sit in loco 
sacro : quia tunc esset papalis. 

2 dus est in eo qui verberat patrem aut matrem scil. ex casu : 
sed si ex certa scientia absolutio spectat ad solum papam. 

3 tius est in eo qui deflorat virginem fraudulenter : sed si vio- 
lenter maliciose et vi absolutio ad solum papam spectat* 



330 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



4 tus est in eo qui in mortem conjugis machinatur. 

5 tus est in eo qui abutitur crismate : vel eucharistia : vel alia 
re sacra : aut facit furtum in ecclesia : et etiam in illo clerico ex 
cujus negligentia hoc contingit. 

6 tus est in eo qui baptizavit proprium filium : vel eum ad bap- 
tisma vel confirmationem tenuit. 

7 mus est in eo qui facit votum castitatis : et post votum con- 
trahitur cum aliqua : vel aliqua cum aliquo. 

8 vus est in eo qui contrahit vel continet seu religionem intrat 
in vita uxoris sue post carnalem copulum. 

9nus est in illo malefico qui conntetur se credidisse heretice 
pravitati. 

10 mus est in symoniaco: sub quocunque genere symonie 
fuerit symoniacus quoad absolutionem non quoad dispensationem : 
que ad solum papam spectat. 

1 1 mus est in illo qui excommunicatus est : et solemniter cele- 
brat in ecclesia quoad absolutionem. 

12 mus est in illo qui per saltum est promotus. 

13 mus est in eo qui ordinatur ab alieno epo : sine licentia sui 
proprii episcopi. 

14 tus est in homicida : sive in verbo : sive in consensu : vel se 
defendendo : vel dormiendo : vel si occidat furem vim facientem : 
vel si homicida fuerit infantis. 

1 5 tus est de committente luxuriam in ecclesia maxime conse 
crata. 

16tus N est in eo qui coit cum judea vel sarracena. 

17 mus est in muliere que con ce pit ex alio vero ut vir suus cre- 
dens eum suum proprium filium esse instituit eum heredem in 
aliorum prejudicium et gravamen. 

18 vus est in illo vel ilia qui vel que procurat abortum vel steri- 
litatem sive in se sive in alia. 

19 nus est in eo qui est excommunicatus a judice et non vult 
exire ecclesiam : sed est divinum officium impediens. 

20 mus est in eo qui contrahit matrimonium post sponsalia con- 
tracta cum alia vel juramento interposito in contractu. 

21 mus est in eo qui scienter celebrat in loco interdicto sive in 
publico sive in secreto. 

22 est in eo qui est sortilegus videlicet in illo qui invocat 
demones pro furtis vel mulieribus vel aliis rebus: licet aliqui 
extendant istum casum ad existentes in sacris ordinibus. 



APPENDIX. 



331 



23 est in illo qui scienter et publice sepelit corpus alicujus 
excommunicati in cimeterio. 

24 est in ilio qui excommunicatus est a canone in casibus in 
quibus ab epo potest absolvi. 

25 est in eo qui est irregularis. 

26 est in eo qui contrahit matrimonium clandestine. 

27 est in eo qui est criminosus publicus vel blasphemator. 

28 est si epus audivit confessionern de aliquo peccato inferior 
clericus non habet talem absolvere : sed debet ipsum ad episcopum 
mittere. 

29 est de illo vel ilia qui vel que opprimit filios suos studiose 
vel negligenter. 

30 est in eo qui permittit sacrilegium vel incendium. 

31 est in illo qui committit crimen falsi sive in litteris sive in 
testimonium commissum. Et quod dico de litteris intelligo non 
papalibus quia ille casus est papalis. 

32 est in eo qui violat ecclesias et libertates et immunitates 
earum. 

33 est in eo qui committit peccatum contra naturam ut puta si 
vir virum cognoscit : vel brutum : vel si abutitur membro mulieris 
ad hoc non concesso. 

34 est in illo qui committit incestum ut si cognoscat consangui- 
neam personam. 

35 est in illo qui est perjurus : licet aliqui volunt ilium ex- 
tendere de perjurio pueri qui est infra sacros ordines. 

36 est de illo clerico qui cognovit carnaliter illam quam bapti- 
zavit vel illam cujus confessionern audivit. 

37 est de illo qui excommunicatus est ab epo qui non potest ab- 
solvi per aliquem inferiorem clericum. 

38 est in illo qui est usurarius publicus. 

39 est in illo qui celebrat missam in altari non consecrato : vel 
si celebrat sine sacris indumentis : vel si celebrat non jejunus. 

40 est in illo qui non restituit oblata vel subtracta vel alia i Hi— 
cite acquisita. 

Nota : quod si epus committat alicui sacerdoti vices suas in casi- 
bus in quibus episcopus ipse habet potestatem : talis sacerdos 
potest jurisdictionem exercere in omnibus casibus preter quinque 
qui sequuntur. 

1 est ubi penitentia solemnis est imponenda. 

2 est quia sacerdos non potest absolvere ab excommunicatione 



332 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



in casu in quo epus posuit limitationem nisi specialiter ei com- 
mittat. 

3 est ubicunque invenerit irregularitatem contractam: tunc 
enim debet eum remittere ad episcopum vel ordinarium. 

4 est de incendiariis. 

5 si est de consuetudine alicujus diocesis quod certa crimina 
remittantur. 

Casus in quibus habent dispensare abbates. 

Dispensant abbates cum ingresso religionem ut ad ordines in 
monasterio et ecclesiis subjectis monasterio promoveantur : si no. 
d. Hof. de fil. presbi. in glo. que incipit ac nota: et in textu satis 
probatur in v. ubi monachi, &c. 

Dispensant abbates cum monachis sui monasterii circa esum 
carnium : ut de sta. mo. cum ad monasticum : et de con. di. v. 
carnem. 

Dispensant abbates cum monacho vel con verso professo con- 
stituendo sibi cellam specialem. xx. 9. vl. monachum. 

Dispensant abbates cum monacho qui suum ordinem recepit 
furtive de eo qui fur. ordi. rece. cum b. 

Dispensant abbates monachum licentiando ut ad aliam religio- 
nem transeat. de regu. licet vel ad equalem : justa de causa: ad 
minorem non posset. Et ita debet intelligi decre. et no. de hoc 
de regul. non est in glo. que incipit Et merito. 

Dispensant abbates cum monacho qui excommunicatus est pro 
injectione manuum in clericum violenta se fecit ordinari propter 
jus secundum quod traditur de sen. excom. cum illorum in fi. 

Dispensant abbates cum monacho qui mutavit habitum et in alio 
monasterio sine licentia sui abbatis fuit ordinatus et no. per d. Hof. 
de tempo, ordi. ex parte in glo. que incipit ldeo. 

Finiunt casus Papales : Episcopales : et Abbatiales. 



On this subject there is extant a public and authentic record, 
containing an article so atrociously gross and grotesque, that no 
mind but that of a papal casuist could have conceived it ; and it 
would be absolutely incredible if not attested by undeniable and 
producible fact. It was first made generally public by De Potter, 
in his Vie de Scipion de Ricci, Bruxelles, 1826, tome ii, pp. 326, 7. 
It occurs in the Appendix to the Constitutiones Synodales of the 



APPENDIX. 



333 



last of the royal house of the Stuarts, Henry, Cardinal Duke of 
York, bishop of Frascati, and bears the date of 1764. The title 
of the particular portion in which the offensive passage is found, 
is Casus quorum absolutionem sibi reservat regia celsitudo emi- 
nentissima dominus cardinalis dux eboracensis episcopus tuscu- 
lanus. I have no inclination to disgust the reader with the 
quotation, which may be found in the Appendix, No. 12, cap. 10, 
art. 9, § 9, or p. 545 ; and will only add, that I have the two bulky 
quartos, of which the whole work consists, in my possession, and 
therefore know, which I had no reason previously to doubt, that 
De Potter's statement is perfectly correct. The volumes are 
magnificently printed in Rome by the episcopal printer, Superi- 
oribus Annuentibus. The Appendix contains other documents of 
curiosity and importance — particularly at p. 575 and following, a 
re-edition of the bull in Ccena Domini by Clement XIII, in 1764; 
and several bulls, attempting to arrest the course of sacerdotal 
crime by means of the confessions of female penitents : and at 
p. 595 and following, are given long and precise directions in 
what manner depositions are to be received on that subject. 

To do justice, however, to the royal duke and cardinal, it may 
be observed, that in his directions for self-examination in order to 
confession, he has declined the disgusting turpitude which, in the 
English language, in Protestant England, and in stereotype, dis- 
graces the Garden of the Soul, where a course of examination for 
the same purpose is prescribed, in which impurity is made the 
theme of critical and intense meditation — is kept infixed upon the 
memory and imagination for the purpose of future and accurate 
confession — confession in the ears of a man — a man who, 
although a priest, may be a vitious man — whose vitiosity has 
abundant chances of being increased by such confession — and 
who is thereby qualified and incited to be a tempter to others. 
That such iniquity is no calumny or visionary dread, is too well 
and publicly confirmed by the means made use of by the highest 
authority in the Roman church to prevent or restrain it ; and the 
repetition of such attempts proclaims their inefrlcacy. It is no 
small aggravation of the disgrace of this popular Manual of De- 
votion, that a late edition of it, expurgated in the particular 
objected to, has incurred on that very ground the deliberate cen- 
sure of a Roman Catholic periodical, eminent indeed principally 
for its puerility and its rancour. 



334 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



Page 189. — Auto de Fe at Valladolid in 1559. 

The operations of the Inquisition, particularly that of Spain, are 
intimately connected not only with the papacy in general, but in 
an especial manner with the spirit and proceedings of the council 
of Trent. Paul IV, we have seen, placed more reliance upon the 
holy tribunal than upon the holy synod, for the extirpation of 
heresy. And with good reason, since his faithful son, Philip of 
Spain, had succeeded so well with this instrument. Upon the 
ground of this success, an attempt was made to introduce the 
remedy into France ; but the virtue of the parliament repugned 
and defeated the attempt till a substitute for it was found in the 
St. Bartholomew Massacre. No apology, therefore, can be needed 
for re-editing a small tract of extreme rarity, narrating rather 
circumstantially one of the most important and efficacious Autos 
—that celebrated at Valladolid, May 21, 1559. It is in Italian, 
and printed at Bologna, to all appearance at the very time, and 
probably under the auspices of the inquisitorial pontiff just men- 
tioned. And as its authenticity is confirmed by the according account 
of the same Auto, in the Hist. Pontif. Catol. of Yllescas, Part ii, 
capit. xxx, § iv, pp. 723, &c. ed. Mad., 1613 ; so does it, in its 
turn, corroborate the Registers, and the one of the same Auto in 
particular, appended by V. Skinner to the second edition of his 
translation of Montanus's Account of the Arts of the Spanish In- 
quisition in 1 569, under the title, * A discovery and playne decla- 
ration of the sundry subtill practices of the Holy Inquisition of 
Spain,' &c. The Registers are only found in this second edition, 
which is eminently scarce. 

The Italian account, here afresh presented to the reader, will 
not, it is hoped, prove unserviceable to Dr. M'Crie in a second 
edition, which is reckoned upon, of his highly valuable History of 
the Suppression of the Reformation in Spain. 

It is only necessary further to notice in the title-page the error 
of June for May. The 2lst of June could in no year be Trinity 
Sunday ; and the Tables of Nicolas in the year 1559, exhibit Tri- 
nity Sunday as the 21st of May. This, in fact, is the day 
expressed in Yllescas. Skinner's date is likewise wrong a few 
days : but this is a trifle— the identity is evident. 

Relatione dell' Atto della Fede, che si e celebrato dall' officio 
della Santa Inquisitione di Valladolid. Nel Giorno della Domi- 



APPENDIX. 



335 



nica della Santissima Trinita, a xxi. del mese di Giugno, della 
Nativita del nostro Signore Giesu Christo M.D.LIX. Col Nome 
di tutti qttelli Signori, et Donne, che sono stati abbrusciati, et anco 
le Condannaggioni de' Racconciliati. 

[A figure of St. Peter with the legend, Santus Petrus.] 
In Bologna, per Alessandro Benacio, et compagni. 

Essendosi fatto un palco grande, & ben fabricato per 1' effetto 
che si fece in la piazza maggiore di Valladolid, appresso alia casa 
del Concistorio, & acconcia la stanza dove haveano da stare le 
persone Regale in la detta Casa, & altri Palchi, & stanze per li 
Conseglieri, Tribunal]', Cavalieri, & altre persone, de questa corte, 
& Cancellaria della detta Terra, et di molti altri luochi del Regno, 
che qui concorsero, di maniera, che tutta la piazza, finestre, tetti, 
e strade stavano piene di gente per vedere 1' atro*. In questo 
mezzo uscirno di Palazzo innanzi le dieci hore la Serenissima 
Prencipessa, dona Giovana Governatrice di questi Regni, & Don 
Carlo Prencipe di Spagna, accompagnati dall' Arcivescovo di 
S. Giacopo, il Contestabile, 1' Almirante di Castiglia, il Marchese 
d' Astorga, il Conte di Miranda, il Marchese di Denica, il Mastro 
di Montesa, il Marchese di Sarria, il Maggiordomo maggiore 
della Prencipessa, Don Garzia di Toledo, il Mastro di creaza del 
Prencipe, il Conte di Osorno, il Conte di Nieua, il Conte di 
Modica, il Conte di Saldagna, il Conte di Zibadeo, il Conte di 
Andrada, & molti altri Cavallieri, oltre quelli delle case di sue 
Altezze. Venivano innanzi a sue Altezze due balestrieri di mazza, 
& duoi d* arme con T insegne reali, & il Conte di Bondia con lo 
stocco, & innanzi che sue Altezze arrivassero nella piazza stavano 
in suoi palchi, & stanze, 1' Arcivescovo di Siviglia Inquisitor gene- 
rale, et quelli del Consiglio della santa Inquisitione, & con esso il 
Vescovo di Ciuidad Roderigo, & il Conseglio Real, 1' Inquisitori, 
& il Vescovo di Valentia, come ordinario, & con essi il Vescovo 
d' Ories & tutti gli altri Consegli. Et poi che arrivorno sue 
Altezze, venne la processione delli prigioni penitenti, con il clero, 
& Croce coperta di tela nera, & con la Bandiera del santo officio, 
tutti ordinatamente per una contratella, d valle, che si fece dalla 
casa della Inquisitione fino al palco della piazza, perche li peni- 
tenti caminassero per mezzo con li famigliari della Inquisitione, 



* atto. 



336 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



Sc non 1' impedissero la quantity delle genti ch' erano per le strade. 
Arrivati tutti al Palco, si assettarono, & subito predico il Nuestro fra 
Melchior Cano, il Vescovo che fu di Canaria, dell' ordine di santo 
Domenico, & fece una predica molto dotta, prudente, & solenne, 
come in tal tempo, & luoco si ricercava. 

Finita la predica, Y Arcivescovo di Siviglia andd dove stavano 
sue Altezze, & li fece giurare sopra una Croce, & un Messale, 
sopra che posero sue reali mani in questo modo. 

Perche, per decreti Apostolici, & sacri Canoni e ordinato, che 
li Re giurino di favorire la santa fe Catholica, & religion Chris- 
tiana, per tanto conforme a questo, vostre Altezze giurano per 
Dio, per Santa Maria, perli santi Evangelii, & per il segno della 
Croce, dove han posto sue Reali mani, che daranno tutto il favor 
necessario al santo officio dell' Jnquisitione, & a suoi ministri 
contra li heretici, & apostati, & contra tutti quelli che li favori- 
ranno, & defenderanno, & contra qual si vogliano persone, che 
directe, o indirecte impediranno le cose di questo santo officio, & 
che astrengeranno tutti suoi Suditi, & naturali, ad obedire, & os- 
servare le constitutioni, & lettere Apostolice, date, & promulgate 
in difensione di nostra santa fe catholica contra li heretici, & 
contra quelli che li crederanno, recettaranno, favoriranno, & 
difenderanno, sue Altezze risposero. Cosi giuramo ; & 1' Arci- 
vescovo li disse, & per questo nostre Signore prosperi per molti 
anni le Real persone, & stati di vostre Altezze. 

Finito di giurare sue Altezze, uno delli Relatori che si stavano 
disse alii circonstanti, se giuravano il medesimo quanto fosse il 
loro, & tutti risposero, che si. Et allhora cominciarono a leggere 
le sentenze delli detti condennati, che sono gli infrascritti. 

Gli Abbrusciati. 

II Dottor Agostino de Cazaglia, capellano, & praedicatore di 
Sua Maesta, habitatore di Valladolid, degradato, & abbrusciato in 
persona per Lutherano, mastro et praedicatore della detta setta di 
Luthero, con confiscation de beni. 

Francesco de Viuero, prete suo fratello, habitator di Valladolid, 
degradato, & abbrusciato in persona per Lutherano, & mastro 
della detta setta, con confiscatione de beni. 

Donna Beatrice de Viuero, monaca, sorella delli sopradetti, 



APPENDIX. 



337 



abrusciata in persona per Lutherana, et maestra della detta setta 
con confiscation de beni. 

Donna Leonora de Viuero, madre delli sopradetti morta, habi- 
tatrice che fu di Valladolid, condennata sua memoria, & fama 
abrusciata in statua per lutherana, con confiscation de beni, 
& commandossi, che fosse rovinata la sua casa, perche in essa si 
ragunavano alcune persone a predicare, & insegnare la detta setta 
pestifera di Luthero, & che nel suolo di essa fosse posta una 
colonna, o marmo, a perpetua memoria, con lettere, che dichia- 
rino, perche fu rovinata. 

II mastro Alons Perez, prete habitator, di Palentia degradato, 
et abrusciato per lutherano con confiscation de beni. 

II Baccillieri Antonio de Herezzuolo, habitator de Toro abbrus- 
ciato in persona per lutherano pertinace, con confiscation de beni. 

Christophoro di Ocampo, habitator di Zamora, abbrusciato in 
persona per lutherano, con confiscation de beni. 

II licentiato Francesco di Errera, nativo di Pegnaranda, ab- 
brusciato in persona per lutherano, con confiscation de beni. 

Giovan Garsia argentiero, habitator di Valladolid, abbrusciato 
in persona per lutherano, con confiscation de beni. 

Christophoro di Padiglia, habitator di Zamora, abbrusciato in per- 
sona per lutherano dogmatizator, & come Heresiarcha della detta 
Setta, con confiscation de beni. 

Isabella de strada habitatrice di Pedrosa, abbrusciata in persona 
per lutherana dogmatizatrice della detta Setta, con confiscation de 
beni. 

Giovanna Velazques nativa di Pedrosa, abbrusciata in persona 
per lutherana, con confiscation de beni. 

Gonzalo Vaes Portughese habitator di Lisbona, abbrusciato in 
persona, perche era stato Giudeo, & Giudaizava, con confiscatione 
de beni. 

Catherina Romana, habitatrice di Pedrosa, abbrusciata in per- 
sona per lutherana, con confiscation de beni. 

Donna Catherina de Ortegha, habitatrice di Valladolid, abbrus- 
ciata in persona per lutherana, maestra della detta Setta, con con- 
fiscation de beni. 

Reeonciliati. 

Don Louigi de Roias, nepote del Marchese di Poza, figliuolo 
maggiore de 1* herede del Marchesato, reconciliato per lutherano, 

Z 



338 



COUNCIL OF TRKNT. 



con confiscatione de tutti i suoi beni, & habito dal palco fin' alia 
tornata alia casa del santo Officio, 8c non piu. 

Donna Anna Henriques, habitatrice di Toro, figliuola della 
Marchesa de Alchanixas, & nepote al detto Marchese di Poza, 
moglie di don Giovanni Alfonso di Fonseca reconciliata per luthe- 
rana, con confiscatione de beni, & habito dal palco fin' alia tornata 
alia casa del santo Officio, & non piu. 

Don Pietro Sarmiento Commendator dell' Ordine di Alchan- 
tara, habitator di Palentia, figlio del Marchese di Poza, reconcili- 
ato per lutherano con confiscation de beni, & habito, & carcere 
perpetua. 

Donna Mentia de Figueroa, moglie del detto, reconciliata per 
lutherana, con confiscation de beni, & habito, & carcere perpetua. 

Giovan d' Ulloa Pereira Commendator dell' Ordine di san Gio- 
vanni, habitator di Toro, reconciliato per Lutherano, con confis- 
catione de beni, & habito dal palco fino alia tornata alia casa del 
santo Officio, & non piu. 

Leonora de Cisneros, moglie del Baccilliero Antonio Herrez- 
zuelo, habitatrice di Toro, reconciliata per Lutherana, con confis- 
cation de beni, 8s habito, 8c carcere perpetua. 

Giovan de Viuero fratello del dottor Cazaglia, habitatore di Val- 
ladolid, reconciliato per Lutherano, con confiscation de beni, 
habito, 8c perpetua carcere irremissibile. 

Donna Giovanna de Silva, moglie del sopradetto il medesimo. 

Donna Costanza de Viuero, moglie che fu del Computatore 
Ferrante Ortiz, sorella del detto Dottor Cazaglia, habitatrice di 
Valladolid, reconciliata per Lutherana, con confiscation de beni, 
habito, 8c carcere perpetua irremissibile. 

Donna Francesca de Zuniga monaca, figliuola del licentiate 
Antonio di Baezza, habitatrice di Valladolid, reconciliata per Lu- 
therana, con confiscatione de beni, 8c habito, 8c carcere perpetua. 

Donna Maria de Roias, figliuola del Marchese di Poza, 
monaca, nel monasterio di santa Catherina di Valladolid, recon- 
ciliata per Lutherana, con confiscatione de beni, 8c habito nel 
palco, 8c non piu. 

Antonio Dominquez habitator de Pedrosa, reconciliato per Lu- 
therano, con confiscatione de beni, habito, 8c carcere per tre 
anni. 

Isabella Dominquez, fantesca di donna Beatrice di Viuero 



APPENDIX. 



339 



nativa di Montimaggiore, reconciliata per Lutherana con confis- 
catione de beni, & habito, & carcere perpetua. 

Daniel della Quadra habitator di Pedrosa, reconciliato per 
Lutherano, con confiscatione de beni, & habito, & carcere per- 
petua. 

Antonio Basor Inglese, reconciliato per Lutherano, con confis- 
cation de beni, & habito dal palco fin' al tornar alia casa del 
santo Officio, et non piu, & reclusione per un' anno in un monas- 
terio, & casa di religione, dove sia instrutto nelle cose di nostra 
santa fe Catholica. 

Marina di Saiiavedra, moglie di Cisneros de Soteglio, habita- 
trice di Zamorra, reconciliata per Lutherana, con confiscatione de 
beni, et habito, et carcere perpetua irremissibile. 

Fornito* di leggere le sententie, quelli che s'havevano d' ab- 
brusciare fornof dati in man della giustitia secolare, che li mend 
alia porta del campo fuora de Valladolid, dove furono morti et 
abbrusciati ; et gli reconciliati tornarono alia prigione della Inqui- 
sitione, eccetto Don Luigi de Roias, Don Pietro Sarmento suo zio, 
et il Commendator Giovan de Ullca Pereira, per star in miglior 
guardia, et piu sicuri, finche li sia assegnato dove han da star 
rinchiusi, li menarono alia prigione della Corte. 

Et perche in un giorno non si poteva far 1- atto con tutti li pri- 
gioni, che uscirono, restarono in la prigione della santo Officio, 
per esser molte, et longhe le sententie, per li molti errori di che 
stavano convinti. 

Restarono nella prigione per un' altro atto le persone sotto- 
scritti. 

Fra Domenico di Roias. 
Don Carlo de Seso habitatore dello Grugno. 
Pietro de Cazaglia, prete curato de Pedrosa. 
Pietro Soteglio, habitator di Aldea, il palo della diocesi di Za- 
morra. 

Donna Marina de Guevara, monaca nel monasterio di Balen di 
Valladolid. 

Donna Felippa di Heredia, monaca del detto Monasterio. 
Donna Margherita di Santestefan, monaca di detto monasterio. 
Donna Francesca de Zuniga, monaca del detto Monasterio. 



* Finito. 



| furno, furono. 

Z2 



340 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



Donna Catherina de Reinoso, monaca del detto Monasterio, 

Donna Catherina de Alcharaz, monaca del detto Monasterio. 

Maria de Miranda, monaca del detto Monasterio. 

Donna Teresa Doipa, habitatrice di Madrid. 

Leonora de Toro, moglie de Francesco della Vega calzolaro, 
habitatrice di Zamorra. 

Anna de Mendozza, zitella nativa di Toledo. 

Catherina Bezerra vedoa, habitatrice de Pedrosa. 

Antonio di Lara Sartore, habitator di Valladolid. 

Donna Isabella de Castiglia, moglie di Don Carlo. 

Donn' Anna Brezenno vedoa, habitatrice di Zamorra. 

Donna Catherina di Castiglia zitella. 

II licentiato Diego Sanchez, prete della villa de Medina. 

Donna Eufragina di Mendozza monaca. 

Isabella de Pedrosa vedova, habitatrice de Pedrosa. 
Francesco de Almarca, habitator de Almarca, diocesi de Soria. 
J oannes Sances, habitator d' Astadillo. 
Alfonso Lopez, prete della diocesi di Ciudad Rodrigo. 
Alfonso Cozzon Moresco, habitator di Aranda de Duero. 
Gaspar Blanco Moresco, habitator di Palentia. 
Amator di Miranda Portogallese, di razza de Giudei. 
Bernardo Lopez Portogallese della medesima razza. 
Diego Perez Portogallese della medesima razza. 
Gabriel Perez Portogallese della medesima razza. 
Anna de Leon Portogallesa, della medesima razza. 
Joanne de Avila orefice, habitator di Valladolid. 
Joanne de Salorzano Montagnes. 
Christoforo di Zamorra, habitator di Valladolid. 
Antonio Goncalez, habitator di Salamanca. 
Maddalena Fernandez habitatrice di Villaverde. 
L' Atto dell' Inquisitione di Siviglia si celebrera presto, che non 
aspettavano se non che si celebrasse prima questo atto di Valla- 
dolid. 

Stampatain Bologna, con licentia de i superiori. 

Page 247. — The Reformation in France. 

Although I had access to the work before, yet having recently 
only obtained possession of the rare and invaluable history, of 
which in the main Beza, or de Beze, is undoubtedly the author, 



APPENDIX. 



34 1 



Histoire Ecclesiastique des Eglises Reformees au Royaume de 
France, &c> Anvers, 1580*; and having consequently better 
leisure to peruse it, its details are so minute and discriminative, 
that I cannot refuse myself the pleasure of laying before the 
reader some of the reflections which it most forcibly excited. It 
may be proper, however, to premise, that a considerable portion 
of the prior part of that history is evidently derived from an earlier, 
and interesting one, attributed to La Place, entitled Commentaires 
de l'Estat de la Religion et Republique soubs les Rois Henry, 
&c, 1565 1. 

The fortunes of the Reformation in France were peculiar. In 
Spain and Italy, it was instantly suppressed by the sweeping 
cruelties of the Inquisition. In England, it was twice, the last time 
permanently, taken under the patronage of the civil power; and, 
with some just apprehensions of a reverse, has continued in that 
state to the present time. In Germany, it was embraced and sup- 
ported by several of the states of the empire. In France, this 
blessed revolution was neither suppressed, nor embraced, by the 
government, either entirely or in any definite part. It was never 
the religion of the state : it was only tolerated at best. Pro- 
fessed and supported indeed it was by a portion, but a scattered 
portion, of the population; and never attained ascendancy, or 
even assured settlement. 

Perhaps in no nation, which the Reformation has visited with 
its light, has it suffered more cruelly, perseveringly, and triumph- 
antly, than in France. It was the anvil, (as Beza observed to 
the apostate King of Navarre, and as the device in the title- 
page of his book represents,) which has worn out many a hammer. 
Its progress is distinctly and strongly marked. The seeds of it 
were sown chiefly by the diffusion of books ; and the persecution 
which its appearance excited was in a particular and rigorous 
manner directed against the conveyers of books. This is a 
remarkable feature in the history. The persons individually, and 

* Gerdesii Misc. Gron. iv, 702, and 691, where is a letter of Beza, ap- 
parently recognizing the work as his own. At p. 583, tome i, however, of 
that work, the writer of that portion speaks of having heard something from 
Beza. It is said that Nic. des Galars assisted. 

f Meuselii Bib. Hist, vii, Par. ii, p. 227- See for his character and fate 
at the St. Bartholomew, Thuani Hist. Hi, ix. 



342 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



separately, of those who embraced the evangelic purification, P were 
the first objects of the ferocious hostility of a profligate mob 
instigated by the more disciplined and deep-rooted antipathy \ of 
the Romish priesthood. Under this direction the persecution was 
most critical, unsparing, and extensive. In every town and pro- 
vince, the individuals were picked out and brought down as they 
appeared, or almost as they existed. And yet the converts from 
the surrounding darkness and corruption were on the increase. 
Per dainna,per ccsdes, &c. A second stage in their history was 
the formation of churches, or organized societies in private houses, 
throughout the whole extent of their settlement. These were no 
less the object of attacks, which they survived. The third advance 
was, to a union of the separate and scattered churches in one 
body ; and occasional synods were the result : they were held even 
in the capital. The reformed subsequently attracted the notice of 
the higher orders of the nation by the justice and merit of their 
cause; and in consequence obtained something like a political 
recognition and importance. But during the whole period they 
enjoyed nothing like worldly prosperity, nor were ever free from 
a vigilant and relentless persecution. One peculiar and striking 
article in their persecution, intended to operate against them as a 
brand of supreme infamy, has recoiled with double force upon the 
memory of their infatuated and infuriated persecutors, who had 
no leisure to reflect that they were basely as well as accurately 
copying their heathen prototypes in the accusations brought 
by them against the first Christians, and which they, professing 
Christians, in the sixteenth century repeated against the real 
Christians, then newly appearing among them — the charge of 
licentious and abominable excesses in their religious assemblies. 
Assemblies which, by their cruelty, as the ancient idolators by 
theirs, they compelled to be secret and nocturnal, they, on that 
very ground, accused of being scenes of deliberate impurity and 
even incest; and the men who perpetrated, or encouraged the 
perpetration of, these atrocious falsehoods, were the highest as 
well as the lowest of the nation, kings, cardinals, and prelates, 
as well as the rabble — the self-named true and only Catholic 
Church of Christ ! The reformed were still persecuted, but not 
destroyed ; and they gained consideration and strength sufficient 
to command an approach to the throne itself with a formal exhi- 



APPENDIX. 



343 



bition of the articles of their calumniated faith. In process of 
time, in the year 1561, they were admitted by their representa- 
tives to a public audience at the colloquy of Poissy, and supported 
their cause before sovereigns and nobles with such triumph, that 
their enemies were compelled to wish themselves deaf or the 
speakers dumb *. When we thus trace the continued and unin- 
termitted fiery trial which our Christian brethren of France, up 
to this period, were called to endure, and did so victoriously 
endure ; and when we carry our view onward from that period, 
and reflect upon the dark horrors — of the St. Bartholomew, of 
the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and even of the years of 
1815 and 1816 f> under our very eyes in the south, we are bound 

* This, at least, the cardinal of Lorraine said for himself ; and the 
feeling was doubtless common. 

1* For most satisfactory and unexceptionable evidence on the subject of 
this persecution, I refer with pleasure to the Eclaircissemens Historiques en 
reponse aux calomnies dont les Protestans du Gand sont l'objet ; et Precis 
des Agitations, &c. Par P. J. Lanze de Peret, Avocat a la Cour Royale de 
Nimes, 1818, 1819. The performance is elaborate, and scrupulously exact. 
The author is one of the very few members of the Roman persuasion, to 
whom the praise of true liberality, or rather justice, is due, and cheerfully 
awarded. He has indeed been rather severe in a note at the end of his 
work on the Rev. Clement Perrot for alleged exaggerations : but his own 
laboriously authenticated statements fall very little below the atrocities 
detailed by the Protestant minister. Our own countryman, the Rev. Mark 
Wilks, has adduced the testimony of the deserving French advocate with 
just respect. It is some drawback upon the pleasure which we feel on 
recollecting the zeal displayed on the subject at the time, particularly in our 
Parliament, that the motive was so evidently traceable to a party spirit and 
party feelings, that, had not such a spirit and such feelings looked for their 
gratification in stirring and urging the subject, it is a reasonable question, 
whether even the most indignant declaimers against papal persecution 
would not have remained perfectly indifferent and silent ; if, indeed, they 
did not explode it as a mark of illiberality to interfere, even by censure or 
remonstrance, with the unalienable and imprescriptible right of Catholics 
to chastise Protestants in any way which they might think proper. The 
government of this country, at the time, were indeed deeply blameable for 
allowing themselves, on the representations of the persecuting party, to 
represent the persecution as originating simply in political recollections and 
feelings. M. Peret has distinctly proved that the persecution was a reli- 
gious persecution — that the Protestants were persecuted by the self-called 
Catholics, as Protestants, and for their religion as Protestant. And the 



344 



COUNCIL GF TRENT. 



to honour the memory of such saints, as forming an eminently 
illustrious portion of " the noble army of martyrs." 

A treacherous regret has sometimes been expressed, that these 
sufferers, when they obtained sufficient power, were tempted to 
resist their persecutors by force, and eventually plunge the nation 
in a long and sanguinary civil war ; and expediency has been 
called in aid of the insinuation, by the question, what did they 
gain by such conduct ? They gained this, that for generations 
Christianity was not extinguished in France, but, on the contrary, 
continued for the time to create human souls to holiness and 
salvation. Look at Italy and Spain : what has non-resistance, 
whether necessary or not, done in those countries ? At any rate* 
no one who knows what justice is, will hastily or strongly, if at all, 
condemn those of the religion in France who having well proved 
for nearly half a century how they could endure persecution with- 
out resistance, were at length driven to take up arms for the 
dearest rights, not of themselves alone, but of others, and in order 
to defend even their civil rights against the illegal and barbarous 
encroachments of a powerful faction. 

The view which Mr. Smedley has given of the events alluded 
to, masterly as it is, yet from his limits necessarily compendious, is 
much assisted in its effect by recurring to the detail of his prin- 
cipal original. 




The Summary of the Bula Cruzada, of which it is thought an 
entire copy would be acceptable to the reader, is perhaps without 
a duplicate in this country. It is a broadside of eighteen inches 
by twelve. It purports to be granted to the king of Spain by 
Leo XII in the year 1828 ; and is, therefore, no antiquated and 
obsolete document. It was sent to me, by the means of a friend, 
under cover by post. It is well known that the compulsory pur- 
chase of these Indulgences, when circulated, is an important part 
of the royal revenue in Spain, and that the original donor has a 
competent share of the proceeds. There is a professed and able 

representation above mentioned was, in the first authors, the more base, 
in proportion as 5 with a perfect conviction of its falsehood, it might be made 
plausible. 




/ 



Page 312. — Bula Cruzada. 



APPKNDIX. 



345 



tract of Dr. Michael Geddes on the subject in his Tracts against 
Popery, pp. 157, and following. Labat, likewise, in his Voyages 
en Espagne, at the end of tome i, has given a copy of one of 
these productions, by Urban VIII, for the benefit of New Spain 
and the Philippine Islands, together with a translation into 
French. There is a more uncommon work in Spanish, Explica- 
cion de la Bulla de la S. Cruzada, por el padre fray Manuel Rod- 
riguez Lusitano, en Caragoca, 1592, which contains a specimen of 
the Summary. In substance, the two just mentioned, and the 
one now given, agree ; but there is some variation in the form 
and contents. That, particularly, which appears in Labat, con- 
tains a passage prudently omitted in the last. It occurs in that 
part where the choice of a confessor is indulged to the worthy 
purchaser, especially if he double his purchase. Such, his holi- 
ness concedes, may be absueltos de todos y qualesquiera pecados, 
crimenes, y excessos, por mas graves que scan, &c. Such lan- 
guage is not rare in papal grants of this description. To go no 
earlier, in the year of the last Jubilee but one, 1775, Pius VI, with 
the ordinary indulgences, grants to confessors thus chosen, the 
power of absolving a quibusvis peccatis, criminibus, et delictis, 
quantumcunque gravibus, et enormibus, etiam, &c. The same in 
the Extension of the Jubilee the year after, the word excessibus 
being added after peccatis. The reader may, perhaps, be most 
struck upon running his eye over this extraordinary, but not very 
sightly, document, of the List of days on which souls may be 
drawn out of Purgatory. As if the very notion of that fiction, 
particularly as held and taught in the modern church of Rome, 
were not sufficiently gross and revolting, but that the impious 
fatuity must be added of the power of the living in such a way to 
liberate the captives in the pope's dungeon, as that certain days 
should be privileged to be available ones for that purpose, in 
preference to all others. It is impossible to burlesque the 
subject : horror and pity alone shelter it from the most scornful 
ridicule. 



346 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



MDCCCXXVIII. 

Para el Principado de Cata- 
luna. 

Sumario de las Facultades, In- 
dulgences y Gracias que Nues- 
tro Smo. Padre Leon Doce, se 
ha dignado conceder por la 
Bula de la Sta. Cruzada al Rey 
Nuestro Senor, y a todos los 
fieles que estando en los Reinos 
de Espana y demas dominios 
sujetos a S. M. C. o veniendo 
a ellos, le ayudaren y sirvieren 
en la guerra contra infieles, ex- 
pedite para el ano de mil ocho- 
cientos veinte y ocho. 

Entre las Naciones favore- 
cidas del Cielo y llamadas 
por la Providencia Divina 
al Gremio de la Iglesia, 
ninguna mas privilegiada 
que la Nacion Espanola, 
escogida muy particular- 
mente para la propagacion 
y defensa di Ntra. Sta. F6 
Cat(51ica, habiendo llevada 
el Estandarte de la Cruz a 
los Paises mas remotos del 
Orbe, y hacitmdole triun- 
far inumerables veces de 
los enemigos del nombre 
Cristiano. Para alen- 
tarla, pues, en tan glori- 
osa empresa la franquearon 
los Romanos Pontifices 
con una liberalidad impon- 



MDCCCXXVIII. 

For the Principality of Cata- 
lonia. 

Summary of the Faculties, In- 
dulgences, and Grants which 
Our Most Holy Father Leo 
the Twelfth has deigned to grant 
for the Bull of the Holy Cru- 
zada to Our Lord the King and 
to all the faithful residing in the 
kingdoms of Spain, and the 
other dominions, subject to his 
Catholic Majesty, or coming 
into them, who shall assist and 
serve him in the war against the 
infidels, drawn up in form for 
the year one thousand eight 
hundred and twenty-eight. 
Among the Nations favoured 
by Heaven, and called by 
the Divine Providence to 
the Bosom of the Church, 
none is more privileged 
than the Spanish Nation, 
more especially selected 
for the propagation and 
defence of Our Holy Ca- 
tholic Faith, having carried 
the Standard of the Cross 
to the most remote coun- 
tries of the world, and 
having caused it to triumph 
innumerable times over the 
enemies of the Christian 
name. For its encourage- 
ment, therefore, in so glo- 
rious an undertaking, the 
Roman Pontiffs, with an 



APPENDIX. 



347 



derable los Privilegios, In- 
dulgencias y Gracias con- 
tenidas en la Bula de la 
Sta. Cruzada, que confirmo 
y prorog6 N. SS. P. Leon 
XII, por su Breve expe- 
dite) en Roma a veinte y 
siete de Julio de mil oclio- 
cientos veinte y cuatro, 
cuya execucion nos esta 
cometida. Y por tanto 
Nos Don Manuel Fer- 
nandez Verela, Arcediano 
de Madrid, Dignidad de la 
Sta. Iglesia Metropolitana 
de Toledo primada de las 
Espanas, Caballero de la 
Real y Distinguida Orden 
Espanola de Carlos III, 
individuo Nato de la Real 
Junta de la Inmaculada 
Concepcion, y Jaez Colec- 
tor de las pensiones consig- 
nadas a la misma Orden, 
de la Real Academia de la 
Historia, de la de las 
Nobles Artes de San Fer- 
nando de Madrid, de la de 
San Carlos de Valencia, y 
de varias otras Sociedades 
literarias, econ6micas y de 
beneficencia del Reino, 
Juez privativo del Nuevo 
Rezado, Individuo y Presi- 
dente de la Comision Apos- 
t61ica para el nuevo sub- 
sidio, ydel Tribunal Apos- 
t61ico y Real de la Gracia 
del Escusado, del Consejo 
* Devoti 



inestimable liberality, have 
vouchsafed the Privileges, 
Indulgences, and Grants 
contained in the Bull of 
the Holy Cruzada, which 
Our Most Holy Father 
Leo XII has confirmed 
and continued by his Breve 
drawn up in Rome the 
twenty-sixth of July, one 
thousand eight hundred 
and twenty-four, the exe- 
cution of which is com- 
mitted to us. And there- 
fore We Don Manuel Fer- 
nandez Verela, Archdeacon 
of Madrid, Dignitary of 
the Holy Metropolitan 
Church of Toledo, primary 
see of Spain, Knight of the 
Royal and Distinguished 
Spanish Order of Charles 
III, member by birth of the 
Royal Company of the 
Immaculate Conception, 
and Judicial Collector of 
the pensions assigned to 
the same Order, of the 
Royal Academy of His- 
tory, of that of the Noble 
Arts of St. Fernando of 
Madrid, and of St. Carlos 
de Valencia, and of various 
other Societies, literary, 
economical, and for the 
benefit of the kingdom, 
special Judge of the New 
Rezado*, Member and 
President of the Apostolic 
office. 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



348 

de S. M. su Predicador, y 
Comisario Apostolico ge- 
neral de la Sta. Cruzada y 
demas Gracias en todos los 
Dominios de S. M. C. con 
el fin de hacerlas conocer 
a los fieles, y que pueden 
aprovecharse de tan preci- 
oso tesoro, las reducimos k 
Sumario en la forma sigui- 
ente. 



Primeramente al Rey Ntro 
Senor, que con continuo cui- 
dado y diligencia vela sobre la 
expedicion contra los Infieles, y 
a todos los fieles cristianos es- 
tantes en estos Reinos y Domi- 
nios, 6 que vinieren a ellos que 
dentro del ano contado desde el 
dia de la publicacion de esta 
Bula en cada uno de sus lugares? 
fueren k su costa movidos del 
zelo de la fe a pelear contra los 
infieles en el ejercito de S. M. 
Catolica, 6 liacer en el gracio- 
samente otro genero de servicio 
permaneciendo hasta el fin de 
la expedicion del mismo ano, 6 
muriendo antes de acabarse 6 
en camino para ella, 6 retiran- 
dose del ejercito por en fermedad 
u otra necesidad verdadera, les 
concede su Santidad la misma 



Commission for the new 
subsidy, and of the Apos- 
tolic and Royal Tribunal 
of the grant of the clerical 
subsidy, of His Majesty's 
council, his Preacher and 
General Commissary Apos- 
tolic of the Holy Cruzada 
and the other grants in all 
the Dominions of his Ca- 
tholic Majesty, for the 
purpose of making them 
known to the faithful; and 
that they may provide them- 
selves with so precious a 
treasure, we reduce them 
to a summary in the follow- 
ing form. 
Firstly, to the king Our Lord, 
who with continual care and 
diligence watches over the ex- 
pedition against the Infidels, 
and to all the faithful Christians 
residing in these kingdoms and 
dominions, or coming to them, 
who within one year reckoned 
from the day of the publication 
of this Bull, in each of the ap- 
pointed places, shall be moved 
by zeal for the faith to fight at 
their own cost against the Infi- 
dels in the army of his Catholic 
Majesty, or perform in it any 
other service lasting to the end 
of the expedition of the same 
year, or dying before it is 
finished, or being on the way 
towards it, or quitting the army 
through sickness or any other 
real necessity — his holiness 



APPENDIX. 



349 



indulgencia plenaria que se ha 
acostumbrado conceder a los 
que van a la conquista de la 
tierra Santa y en el ano del Ju- 
bileo, si contritos de sus peca- 
dos, los confesaren de boca o 
no pudiendo confesarlos, lo de- 
searen de veras. Y del mismo 
modo, a los que enviaren a, otras 
personas a su costa al mismo 
ejercito, siendo en el numero 
que segun la calidad de cada 
uno se senala por la referida 
Bula, como tambien, a los en- 
viados, si fueren pobres. Y a 
los soldados ocupados en dicha 
guerra los escusa su Santidad 
de los ayunos votivos o de la 
Iglesia, y declara que en dia 
festivo puedan ocuparse en los 
negocios de la guerra. 

Item, a los arriba dichos y a 
los demas fieles que no yendo 
ni enviando soldados a la dicha 
expedicion, liberalmente contri- 
buyeren a ella de sus bienes 
con la limosna que abajo se 
dira; les concede su Santidad 
que aun en tiempo de entredicho 
(como no hayan dado causa a 
el ni estado de su parte que no 
se levante) y teniendo faculdad 
para ello del Comisario general 
aunque sea una hora antes de 
amanacer y otra despues de 
medio dia pueden dentro del 
mismo ano celebrar, si fueren 
Presbiteros, o hacer celebrar 
misas y los otros Divinos oficios 



grants the same plenary indul- 
gence which is customary to 
those who go to the conquest 
of the Holy land, and in the 
year of Jubilee, provided they 
be contrite for their sins, ac- 
tually confess them, or, not 
being able to confess, truly de- 
sire to do so. And likewise, to 
those who send other persons 
at their cost to the same ar- 
my, to the number of such as 
are required by the Bull accord- 
ing to the quality of each, and 
to that of the persons sent, if 
they are poor. And to the sol- 
diers engaged in the same war, 
his holiness excuses both votive 
fasts, and those of the Church, 
and declares that they may be 
occupied in the business of war 
on festivals. 

Likewise, to the aforesaid, 
and to the other faithful, not 
being, or not sending, soldiers 
to the said expedition, who 
shall contribute liberally to it 
of their goods at the rate of the 
alms, as below specified, his 
Holiness grants, that, even in 
the time of an interdict, (if they 
have not given the cause for it, 
or been the impediment to its 
removal,) and having a faculty 
for the purpose from the Com- 
missary-general, although an 
hour before day-break, or after 
mid-day, they may, if Priests, 
in the same year celebrate, or 
cause to celebrate, masses and 



350 



COUNCIL OP TRENT. 



en su presencia y la de sus 
familares domesticos y parientes 
y recibir la Eucaristia y demas 
Sacramentos (salvo en el dia 
de la Pascua) tanto en las 
Iglesias donde por otra parte 
[es] permitida de cualquier 
modo la celebracion de los 
oficios Divinos durante el entre- 
dicho, como en Oratorio par- 
ticular deputado solamente para 
el culto Divino, y que haya de 
ser visitado y senalada por el 
Ordinario, y que puedan asistir 
a los Divinos oficios en tiempo 
del entrediclio, siendo de su 
cargo siempre que usaren de 
el para lo sobredicho rogar a 
Dios por la union y victoria de 
los Principes cristianos contra 
los infieles. Y tambien se les 
concede que puedan ser sepul- 
tados sus cuerpos en el expre- 
sado tiempo de entredicho con 
moderada pompa funeral como 
no hayan muerto escomulgados. 

Item, que durante el dicho 
ano de la publicacion y estando 
en los expresados Reinos y 
Dominios (pero no fuera de 
ellos) puedan comer carnes de 
consejo de ambos medicos, espi- 
ritual y corporal en los tiempos 
de ayuno de todo el ano ; aun- 
que sean los de Cuaresma, y en 
los mismos por su arbitrio 
huevos y lacticinios ; de manera 
que se entienda satisfacer al 
ayuna los que comieren came 



other Divine offices in their 
presence, and that of their 
domestics and kindred, and 
receive the Eucharist, and other 
Sacraments, (except on Easter 
day,) as well in the Churches, 
where at other times the cele- 
bration of the Divine offices 
during the interdict is in any- 
wise permitted, as in a private 
Oratory exclusively dedicated 
to divine worship, and which 
has been visited and appointed 
by the Ordinary, and that they 
may assist in Divine offices 
in the time of the interdict, it 
being ever their duty to use it 
for the fore-mentioned purpose 
of praying to God for the union 
and victory of the Christian 
Princes against the infidels. And 
likewise he grants, that their 
bodies may be buried in the 
said time of the interdict with 
moderate funeral pomp, if they 
have not died excommunicated. 

Likewise, that during the said 
year of publication, and being 
in the aforesaid kingdoms and 
dominions, (not out of them,) 
they may eat flesh with the 
approbation of their physicians, 
both spiritual and temporal, in 
the fasts of the whole year, even 
that of Lent, and in the same, 
eggs and preparations of milk 
at their pleasure : so that it is 
understood, that those who eat 
flesh fulfil the obligation of the 



APPENDIX. 



351 



como en lo demas guarden la 
forma de el. En cuyo Indulto 
se comprenden los Religiosos 
de cualquier Orden militar, pero 
se exceptuan de el, los Patri- 
arcas, Arzobispos, Obispos, y 
Prelados inferiores, las Personas 
Eclesiasticas Regulares, y los 
Presbiteros Seculares, sino os 
que sean de edad de sesenta 
anos ; aunque fuera del tiempo 
de Cuaresraa podran usar todos 
ellos del mismo indulto en 
cuanto a comer huevos y lac- 
ticinios. 

Item, a los dichos contri- 
buyentes de la limosna que 
para suplecar el Divino auxilio 
por la union y victoria de los 
Principes cristianos contra los 
infieles, ayunaren voluntaria- 
mente en los dias no sujetos al 
ayuna o estando legitamente 
impedidos de ayunar hiciaren 
otra obra piedosa al arbitrio de 
su Confesor o Parroco, y jun- 
tamente oraren a Dios por la 
union y victoria sobredichas, 
cuantas veces lo hicieren tantas 
se les relajan misericordiosa- 
mente en el Sehor quince anos 
y quince cuarentenas de las 
penitencias a ellos impuestas y 
de cualquier modo debidas; y 
ademas se les hace participantes 
de todas las oraciones, limosnas, 
peregrinaciones (aun las de 
Jerusalen) y de las otrasbuenas 



fast, provided they observe the 
form of it. In this indulgence 
are comprehended the religious 
of every military order : never- 
theless [the following] are ex- 
cepted from it : — Patriarchs, 
Archbishops, Bishops, and infe- 
rior Prelates, regular Ecclesias- 
tics, and Secular Priests, except 
they be sixty years of age : al- 
though out of the time of Lent 
all those may use all the indul- 
gences, so far as concerns eggs 
and preparations of milk. 

Likewise, to the said contri- 
butors of alms, who for the pur- 
pose of supplicating the Divine 
assistance for the union and 
victory of Christian Princes 
against the infidels, fast volun- 
tarily on days not appointed 
for fasting, or being lawfully 
prevented from fasting, perform 
some other pious work by the 
injunction of their Confessor or 
Parish priest, and at the same 
time pray to God for the union 
and victory above-mentioned, 
as often as they do so, so often 
are there remitted to them by 
the mercy of the Lord, fifteen 
years and fifteen quarantenes of 
penance imposed upon them, 
and by any means due ; and 
they are further made partakers 
of all the prayers, alms, pil- 
grimages, (even those to Jeru- 



352 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



obras que se hacen en toda la 
Iglesia militante y en cada uno 
de sus miembros. 

Item, los que devotamente 
visitaren cada uno de los dias 
de las Estaciones de Roma, 
cinco Iglesias 6 al tares o en 
defecto de ellos cinco veces un 
altar, y rogaren & Dios por la 
union y victoria de los Principes 
cristianos contra los infieles, 
conseguirdn una indulgencia 
plenaria, tanto para si, como 
por modo de sufragio para los 
difuntos, en cuyo favor hicieren 
dicha visita y oracion. 

Item, para que todos y cada 
uno de los sobredichos con 
mas pureza puedan rogar a 
Dios y mas eficazmente implorar 
su Divino auxilio, se les con- 
cede que puedan eligir Confesor 
secular 6 regular de los apro- 
bados por el Ordinario, y obte- 
ner de el plenaria indulgencia 
y remision de cualesquiera peca- 
dos y censuras, aun de los re- 
servados y reservadas a la Silla 
Apostdlica (excepto el crimen 
de la heregia) una vez en la vida 
y otra en el articulo de la mu- 
erte ; pero de los otros pecados 
y censuras no reservados y no re- 
servadas a la Silla Apostdlica 
puedan obtener la absolucion 
y remision tantas cuantes veces 
los confesaren, imponiendoles, 



salem,) and of all the other 
good works which are performed 
in the whole militant Church, 
and by any of its members. 

Likewise, those who shall de- 
voutly visit, on each of the days 
of the Stations of Rome, five 
churches or altars, or in defect 
of them five times one altar, 
and shall pray to God for the 
union and victory of the Chris- 
tian Princes against the infidels, 
shall obtain one plenary indul- 
gence, as well for themselves, 
as by way of suffrage for the 
departed, in whose favour they 
make the same visit and prayer. 

Likewise, in order that all 
and each of the aforesaid per- 
sons may pray to God with 
more purity, and implore his 
Divine assistance more effica- 
ciously, they are allowed to 
choose a Confessor, secular or 
regular, of such as are approved 
by the Ordinary, and obtain 
from him plenary indulgence 
and remission of whatsoever 
sins and censures, even those 
reserved to the Apostolic Chair, 
(except the crime of heresy,) 
once in their life and again in 
the article of death ; and of 
other sins and censures, not so 
reserved, they may obtain the 
absolution and remission as 
often as they confess them [the 
Confessor] imposing upon them 



APPENDIX. 



353 



peniteiicia saludable segun lo 
pidan las culpas, y con tal que 
si fuere necesaria satisfaction, 
la den por si mismos 6 por sus 
herederos u otros en caso de 
impedimento ; y tambien puedan 
series conmutados por el mismo 
Confesor en algun socorro para 
dicha expedicion todos los votos 
excepto el UJtramarino, el de 
Castidad y el de Religion. 

Item, si acaeciere durante el 
dicho ano morir sin confesion 
por ser repentina la muerte o 
por falta de confesores, conse- 
guiran la misma indulgencia 
plenaria que queda dicha como 
hayan muerto contritos, y antes 
se huviesen confesado al tiempo 
determinado por la Iglesia, y 
no sido mas negligentes en 
hacerlo por la confianza de esta 
concesion. 



Y se declara que en cada un 
ano se puedan tomar dos Suma- 
rios de dicha Bula, y asi gozarse 
dos veces dentro de el todas las 
indulgencias, gracias y privi- 
leges qui arriba se expresan. 

Y a Nos el dicho Comisario 
Apostolico general concede su 
Santidad que podamos dispensar 
y componersobre cualquierairre- 
gularidad, como no sea contra- 
ida porrazondehomicidio volun- 



salutary penance as their faults 
require, and on condition that 
if satisfaction should be neces- 
sary they make it, either in their 
own person, or by their heirs 
or others, in case of impedi- 
ment ; and all vows, excepting 
those of pilgrimage beyond sea, 
of Chastity and of Religion, 
may be commuted by the same 
Confessor into some assistance 
to the said expedition. 

Likewise, if it shall happen 
during the said year, that such 
persons should, on account of 
the suddenness of their death, 
or the want of Confessors, die 
without confession, they shall 
obtain the same plenary indul- 
gence, provided they should die 
contrite, and had before con- 
fessed at the time appointed by 
the Church, and had not been 
more negligent in so doing 
through reliance on the present 
concession. 

And it is declared, that in 
each year two summaries of the 
said Bull may be taken, and 
thus within that year a double 
number be enjoyed of all the 
aforesaid indulgences, grants, 
and privileges. 

And to Us the said Commis- 
sary Apostolic general his Holi- 
ness grants, that we maydispense 
and compound for any irregulari- 
ty, provided it be not contracted 
byreason of voluntary homicide, 
2 A 



354 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



tario, simonia,apostasiade lafe, 
heregia o mala suscepcion de las 
ordenes; y asimismo conlos que 
hubieren contraido matrimonio 
con impedimento oculto de afi- 
nidad, proveniente de copula 
ilicita, como el uno de los con- 
trayentes lo ignorase al tiempo 
de contraer para che puedan 
celebrarlo de nuevo entre si 
aunque sea secretamente en 
cuanto al fuero de la conciencia, 
y tambien para que puedan 
pedir el debito quienes despues 
de celebrado matrimonio hay an 
contraido semejante impedi- 
mento. 

5f Y por cuanto ademas de 
otras facultades nos concede su 
Santidad la de que podamos sus- 
pender durante el ano de la publi- 
cation de esta Bula, todas las in- 
dulgencias y gracias semejantes 
6 desemej antes concedidas por su 
autoridad apostolica a cualesqui- 
era Iglesias,Monasterios, Hospi- 
tales, Lugares piadosos, Uni- 
versidades, Cofradias, y perso- 
nas particulares en los dichos 
Reinos y Dominios, aunque 
sean en favor de la fabrica de la 
Capilla de San Pedro de Roma, 
o de otra semejante Cruzada, y 
contengan algunas clausulas 
que hagan contra la suspension, 
excepto las concedidas a los 
superiores de las Ordenes men- 



simony, apostasy from the faith, 
heresy, or unlawful assumption 
of orders ; and likewise in be- 
half of those who have con- 
tracted marriage with the un- 
known impediment of affinity, 
proceeding from illicit com- 
merce ; if one of the contracting 
parties were ignorant of it at 
the time of contracting, that 
they may celebrate the marriage 
afresh, although secretly, as to 
the obligation of conscience, 
and also, that all who after the 
celebration have contracted 
similar impediment may require 
their due. 



% And therefore, besides 
other faculties, his holiness 
grants, that during the year of 
the publication of this Bull, we 
may suspend all similar or dissi- 
milar indulgences and grants 
conceded by his apostolic autho- 
rity to whatsoever Churches, Mo- 
nasteries, Hospitals,pious Places, 
Universities,Confraternities,and 
private persons in the said king- 
doms and dominions, although 
they be for building St. Peter's 
in Rome, or other similar Cru- 
zada, and contain certain clauses 
against the suspension, except 
those granted to the superiors 
of the Mendicant Orders with 
respect to their friars, solely 
with the understanding that we 



APPENDIX. 



355 



dicantes en cuanto a sus frailes 
tan solamente, como tambien 
que podamos revalidar en favor 
de los que participaren de las 
indulgencias y gracias de esta 
Bula, las que hayamos suspen- 
dido. 

Desde luego, usando de diclia 
autoridad apostolica, suspende- 
mos durante el ano de la publi- 
cacion de esta Bula todas las 
referidas indulgencias y gracias 
que como se ha dicho tenemos 
potestad de suspender ; por ma- 
nera que no puedan publicarse, 
predicarse ni aprovechar a per- 
sona alguna en comun ni en 
particular, sino es que tome y 
tenga esta dicha Bula, en cuyo 
favor tan solamente las revali- 
damos para que pueda gozarlas 
quien la tubiere; pero con tal, 
que ni al tiempo de publicarlas 
o hacer las saber a los fieles o 
repartir los . . . ios de ellas, ni 
antes ni despues con su ocasion 
o pretesto se pida limosna en 
modo alguno para las Iglesias, 
Santuarios, Hospitales, Comu- 
nidades, Congregaciones, u los 
Lugares piadosos, k cuya in- 
stancia se hayan concedido ; 
porque si se pidiere no es nu- 
estra voluntad hacer la expre- 
sada revalidacion ; antes bien 
queremos que la suspension re- 
ferida quede en su fuerza, para 
que ni aun los que tengan la 
Bula de la Santa Cruzada pue- 



may ratify the suspended indul- 
gences in favour of those who 
partake of the indulgences and 
grants of the present Bull. 



Using, therefore, immediately 
the said apostolic authority dur- 
ing the year of the publication 
of this Bull, we suspend all the 
fore-mentioned indulgences and 
grants, which, as we have said, 
we have power to suspend ; to 
the effect, that no person, pub- 
lic or private, can publish, pro- 
claim, or avail himself of them, 
except he procure and possess 
this said Bull, in whose favour 
alone we renew them ; so that 
he who takes the one may en- 
joy the other : upon condition, 
however, that neither at the time 
of publishing them, or when 
they are made known or distri- 
buted, to the faithful, and nei- 
ther before nor after, on occa- 
sion or pretence thereof, shall 
any alms whatever be solicited 
for Churches, Sanctuaries, Hos- 
pitals, Communities, Congrega- 
tions, or pious Places, at whose 
instance they were granted ; 
therefore, if such alms be soli- 
cited, it is our will that no re- 
newal take place, but on the 
contrary we require that the 
fore- mentioned suspension con- 
tinue in force, so that not even 
2 A 2 



35G 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



dan ganar las indulgencias que 
del modo dicho se publicaren, 
divulgaren, o distribuyeren. 

Otrosi, en virtud de la misma 
autoridad apostolica que tam- 
bien nos esta concedida, sus- 
pendemos el entredicho si le 
huviere en cualquier lugar donde 
se hiciere la publicacion y pre- 
dication de esta dicha Bula por 
ocho dias antes y otros ocho 
despues. Y declaramos que los 
que quieran gozar de sus in- 
dulgencias y gracias han de to- 
mar y retener esta Sumario de 
ella, impreso, sellado y firmado 
de nuestro sello y nombre, para 
que no puedan errar acerca de 
las gracias que les son conce- 
didas ni otros usurparselas, y 
que cada uno pueda mostrar 
con que facultad usa de ellas. 

Y por cuanto vos 

contribuisteis con 
la limosna de siete sueldos y tres 
dineros de ardites ; moneda 
Catalana ; que es la que en vir- 
tud de Autoridad Apostolica 
hemos tasada, y recibisteis este 
Sumario (que habeis de guardar 
escrito en el vuestro nombre) 
declaramos que se os concede, 
y podeis usar y gozar de todas 
las referidas indulgencias, facu- 



those who possess the Bull of 
the Holy Cruzada may be able 
to gain the indulgences which, 
in the manner referred to, are 
published or distributed. 

Further, in virtue of the same 
apostolic authority, which is 
likewise granted to us, for eight 
days before and after the pub- 
lication and proclamation of 
this Bull, we suspend any inter- 
dict under which any place may 
lie. And we declare that those 
who may enjoy its indulgences 
and grants must obtain and 
keep this Summary of it printed, 
sealed, and subscribed with our 
seal and name, so that they may 
not be subject to error respect- 
ing the grants which are made, 
nor have them fraudulently 
made use of by others, and that 
each person may be able to 
show by what faculty he uses 
them. 

And since you 

have contributed an 
alms of seven sueldos and three 
dineros de ardites*, money of 
Catalonia, which is what in vir- 
tue of Apostolic authority we 
have charged, and you have re- 
ceived this Summary, (which 
you must keep subscribed with 
your own name,) we declare 
that there are granted to you, 



* An Arragonese sueldo is equal to half a Rial of plate. An Ardite is 
three maravedis. 



APPE 

tades y gracias, en la forma 
sobredicha. Dado en Madrid 
a dos de Enero de mil ochoci- 
entos veinte y siete. 



dix. 357 

and you may use and enjoy, all 
the fore-mentioned indulgences, 
faculties, and grants in the 
form given above. Dated Ma- 
drid, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and twenty-seven. 



% Sumario de los dias de las 
Estationes de Roma, en las 
cuales por concesion de su San- 
tidad ganan indulgencia plena- 
ria los que habieren tornado esta 
Bula, visitaren devotamente cin- 
co iglesias o altares, o en de- 
fecto de ellos uno cinco veces ? 
rogando a Dios por la union y 
victoria de los principes cristi- 
anos contra a los infieles ; y 
asimismo de los dias en que ha- 
ciendo la misma visita se saca 
anima de purgatorio en virtud 
de igual indulgencia plenaria. 

Dias en que se puede ganar 
indulgencia plenaria. 

En cada una de las cuatro 
Dominicas de adviento. 

El miercoles, viernes y saba- 
do de las cuatro temporas del 
ano. 

En los tres dias de las Roga- 
ciones de Mayo. 

En la vigilia y dia de la Na- 
tiv. del Serior y en cada una de 
s us tres mis as . 

En los dias de S. Estevan, 
S. Juan Evangelista y los Stos. 
Inocentes. 



Summary of the days of 
the Stations in Rome, in which, 
by the favour of his holiness, 
a plenary indulgence may be 
gained by those who shall have 
taken this Bull, visited devoutly 
the five churches or altars, or, 
in defect of them, one altar se- 
ven times, praying to God for 
the union and victory of the 
Christian princes against the 
infidels ; and likewise of the 
days on which, making the 
same visit, a soul is extracted 
from purgatory in virtue of the 
same plenary indulgence. 

Days on which may be gained 
a plenary indulgence. 

On each of the four Sundays 
in advent. 

Wednesday, friday, and Sa- 
turday of the four Ember weeks. 

On the three Rogation days 
in May. 

On the eve of the Nativity of 
our Lord, and on each of his 
three miseries. 

On the days of St. Stephen, 
St. John the Evangelist, and 
the Holy Innocents. 



358 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



El dia de la Circumcision del 
Senor, y en el de la Epifania. 

En las dominicas de Septua- 
gesima, Sexagesima y Quincua- 
gesima. 

En todas los dias de Cua- 
resma. 

En los ocho primeros dias 
desde Pascua de Resurreccion. 

En la fiesta de S. Marcos. 

En el dia de la Ascension 
del Sen or. 

En la vigilia y dia de Pente- 
costes. 

En los seis dias siguentes al 
de Pentecostes. 

Los tres dias de vigilia de las 
temporas de Setiembre. 

Dias en que se puede sacar 
anima de purgatorio. 
4- La Dominica de Septuage- 
sima. 

4- El martes, despues de la 
Dominica primera de Cuaresma. 

4r El sabado, despues de la 
Dominica secunda de Cuaresma. 

4« Las Dominicas tercera y 
cuarta de Cuaresma. 

►f- El viernes y subado, des- 
pues de la Dominica quinta de 
ella. 

4- El miercoles de la octava 
de Pascua de Resurreccion. 

4- El jueves y subado de la 
octava de Pentecostes. 

D n . Manuel Fern 2 . Varela. 
[a rude facsimile of the autograpl 



On the day of the Circumci- 
sion of our Lord, and on that 
of Epiphany. 

On Septuagesima, Sexage- 
sima, and Quinquagesima Sun- 
days. 

On all the days of Lent. 

On the first eight days after 
Easter. 

On the festival of St. Mark. 

On the day of our Lord's 
Ascension. 

On the vigil of the day of 
Pentecost. 

On the six days following 
Pentecost. 

The three days of the vigil 
of the Ember week in Septem- 
ber. 

Days on which a soul may be 
liberated from purgatory. 
4° Septuagesima Sunday. 

4- Tuesday after the first 
Sunday in Lent. 

4« Saturday after the second 
Sunday in Lent. 

4- The third and fourth Sun- 
days in Lent. 

4* The friday and Saturday 
after the fifth Sunday in Lent. 

4- The Wednesday in Easter 
week. 

4- The thursday and Satur- 
day in Whitsun week. 

D n . Manuel Fern 2 . Varela. 



APPENDIX. 



359 



On each side of the name is a kind of cross marked with a 
pen. In a square space in the upper left hand corner are figures 
of St. Peter and St. Paul in the usual papal fashion, with the 
figure 4 above : in the space of the opposite corner are LeoXIIth's 
arms. In that of the left hand lower corner is a figure of a cross 
in a circle. Opposite are the arms of Don Manuel. The signa- 
ture in the vacant place, although attempted to be obliterated, is 
Juaepha Casanes. 

Page 313. — Confirmation of the Council by the Pope. 

There is a passage in La Vie de Saint Charles Borromee, &c, 
Par. Ant. Godeau, Evesque de Vence, Paris, 1657, which admi- 
rably illustrates the state of feeling on this subject on all sides, 
and particularly the reason of the hesitation with which the proposal 
was received; and it perfectly establishes the representation 
given by Fra Paolo. The confirmation was given by the pope ; 
and a short account appears of the consistory in which it was 
given on the 26th of January, 1564, together with the oration of his 
holiness on the occasion, and his bull to the same purpose, on the 
same day, in Le Plat's Collection and his edition of the Canons, &c, 
and partly in the common editions. The reader will not need to 
be informed who Cardinal Borromeo was. The words of his 
biographer, at pp. 110, 111, (writing of the Council,) are: — 
' Saint Charles, qui avoit tant travaille pour le faire conclurre, 
* jugea fort bien que si le Pape ne le confirmoit, ou le confirmoit 
' avec quelques exceptions, on alloit retomber dans les premieres 
' confusions dont on estoit si heureusement sorty, et que ce seroit 
' donner la victoire aux Heretiques, et aux Princes Poccasion 
' d 'assembler des Synodes Nationaux pour mettre ordre a la Dis- 
' cipline Ecclesiastique dans leurs Estats. Ces considerations 
' furent si fortes, qu'enfin Pie au Consistoire qu'il tint le vingt- 
f sixiesme de Janvier, confirma absolument le Concile celebre a 
' Trente, et en expedia une Bulle qui fut signed de tous les Car- 
' dinaux, et publiee dans PItalie.' 

Encyclical Letter of Pope Gregory XVI. 
There will be a propriety in ending, as we began, with the pre- 
sent reigning Supreme Pontiff of Rome. In the beginning he 



360 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



was the object of address: here he is the Speaker. And he 
speaks as the oracle of his own world of subjects, ex cathedra, 
and for the first, and latest, time, with so solemn a voice. 

I am indebted to the kindness of much-valued friends for the 
possession of a copy of the original edition of the Encyclical 
Letter of Gregory XVI., obtained with difficulty from Rome 
itself ; and the contents, although known in this country in a less 
authentic shape before, will demonstrate, in what form and degree 
the doctrine, denned and established by the last, (and likely ever to 
be the last,) General Council of the Roman Church, is at this day 
professed, published, and inculcated by the Supreme Head and 
Organ of its Faith ; and how far the indulgent but not eminently 
sagacious opinion is well founded, that the Faith of Romanists is 
changed or improved — an opinion, against which not only the 
whole Papal hierarchy and clergy, but Francis Plowden, and 
Charles Butler, Esqrs., reclaim. 

English translations of this document are extant in the Laity's 
Directory — in the [Roman] Catholic Magazine — in the Protestant 
Journal, and separately with some notes, all for the year 1833 ; 
as well as in a pamphlet by itself with the original, and with 
extended and very valuable notes, in Dublin, 1833. I am not 
able to say, whether an address, clothed with such authority to 
the Roman Catholic world, has obtained the respect of being 
published in Ireland, accompanied with the Pastoral Instructions 
of its Papal Prelates. 



SANCTISSIMI DOMINI NOSTRI, GREGORII, DIVINA PRO VI- 
DENTLA, PAP^E XVI. EPISTOLA ENCYCLICA, AD OMNES 
PATRIARCHAS, PRIMATES, ARCHIEPISCOPOS, ET EPIS- 
COPOS. 

RomjE mdcccxxxii. Ex Typographia Rev. Camerjs Aposto- 
lic^. 

Venerabiles Fratres, 

Salutem et Apostolicam Benedictionem, 

Mirari vos arbitramur, quod ab imposita Nostree humilitati 
Ecclesiye universal procuratione, nondum Literas ad vos dederimus, 
prout et consuetudo vel a primis temporibus invecta, et benevo- 



APPENDIX. 



361 



lentia in vos Nostra postulasset. Erat id quidem Nobis maxime 
in votis, ut diiateremus illico super vos cor Nostrum, atque in 
communicatione spiritus ea vos adloquereraur voce, qua, confir- 
mare Fratres in persona Beati Petri jussi fuimus*. Verum 
probe nostis, quanam malorum eerumnarumque procella primis 
Pontificatus Nostri momentis in earn subito altitudinem maris acti 
fuerimus, in qua nisi dextera Dei fecisset virtutem, ex teterrima 
impiorum conspiratione Nos congemuissetis demersos. Refugit 
animus tristissima tot discriminum recensione susceptum inde 
moerorem refricare ; Patrique potius omnis consolationis benedi- 
cimus, qui, disjectis perduellibus, preesenti Nos eripuit periculo, 
atque, turbulentissima sedata tempestate, dedit a metu respirare. 
Proposuimus illico vobiscum communicare consilia ad sanandas 
contritiones Israel ; sed ingens curarum moles, quibus in con- 
cilianda publici ordinis restitutione obruti fuimus, moram tunc 
Nostrse huic objecit voluntati. 

Nova interim accessit causa silentii ob factiosorum insolentiam 
qui signa perduellionis iterum attollere conati sunt. Nos quidem 
tantam hominum pervicaciam, quorum effrenatus furor impunitate 
diuturna, impensyeque Nostras benignitatis indulgentianon deliniri, 
sed ali potius conspiciebatur, debuimus tandem, ingenti licet cum 
moerore, ex collata Nobis divinitus auctoritate, virga compescere t; 
ex quo, prout jam probe conjicere potestis, operosior in dies 
instantia nostra quotidiana facta est. 

Ast cum, quod ipsum iisdem ex causis distuleramus, jam pos- 
sessionem Pontificatus in Lateranensi Basilica ex more insti- 
tutoque majorum adiverimus, omni demum abjecta cunctatione, 
ad vos properamus, Venerabiles Fratres, testemque Nostras erga 
vos voluntatis epistolam damus leetissimo hoc die, quo de Virginis 
Sanctissimee in Ccelum Assumptes triumpho sollemnia festa pera- 
gimus, ut quam Patron am ac Sospitam inter maximas quasque 
calamitates persensimus, Ipsa et scribentibus ad vos Nobis adstet 
propitia, mentemque Nostram ccelesti afflatu suo in ea inducat 
consilia, quae Christiano Gregi futura sint quam maxime salutaria. 

Moerentes quidem, animoque tristitia confecto venimus ad vos, 
quos pro vestro in Religionem studio, ex tanta, in qua ipsa versatur, 
temporum acerbitate, maxime anxios novimus. Vere enim dixeri- 
mus, horam nunc esse potestatis tenebrarum ad cribandos, sicut 

* Luc. 22. 32. f 1 Corinth. 4. 21. 



362 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



triticum, filios electionis *. Vere luxit, et defluxit terra 

infecta ab habitatoribus suis, quia transgressi sunt leges, mutave- 
runt jus, dissipaverunt foedus sempiterjiumt. 

Loquimur, Venerabiles Fratres, quae vestris ipsi oculis conspici- 
tis, quae communibus idcirco lacrymis ingemiscimus. Alacris 
exultat improbitas, scientia impudens, dissoluta licentia. Despi- 
citur sanctitas sacromm, et quae magnam vim, magnamque neces- 
sitatem possidet, divini cultus majestas ab hominibus nequam im- 
probatur, polluitur, habetur ludibrio. Sana bine pervertitur doc- 
trina, erroresque omnis generis disseminantur audacter. Non 
leges sacrorum, non jura, non instituta, non sanctiores quaelibet 
disciplinae tutae sunt ab audacia loquentium iniqua. Vexatur 
acerrime Romana haec Nostra Beatissimi Petri Sedes, in qua 
posuit Christus Ecclesiee firm amentum ; et vincula unitatis in dies 
magis labefactantur, abrumpuntur. Divina Ecclesiee auctoritas 
oppugnatur, ipsiusque juribus convulsis, substernitur ipsa terrenis 
rationibus, ac per summam injuriam odio populorum subjicitur, in 
turpem redacta servitutem. Debita Episcopis obedientia infringi- 
tur, eorumque jura conculcantur. Personant horrendum in modum 
Academiae ac Gymnasia novis opinionum monstris, quibus non 
occulte amplius et cunieulis petitur Catliolica Fides, sed horrifi- 
cum ac nefarium ei bellum aperte jam et propalam infertur. In- 
stitutis enim exemploque Praeeeptorum, corruptis adolescentium 
animis, ingens Religionis clades, morumque perversitas teterrima 
percrebuit. Hinc porro freno Religionis sanctissimae projecto, 
per quam unam Regna consistunt, dominatusque vis ac robur fir- 
matur, conspicimus ordinis publici exitium, lab em principatus, 
omnisque legitimae potestatis conversionem invalescere. Quae 
quidem tanta calamitatum congeries ex illarum imprimis conspi- 
ratione societatum est repetenda, in quas quidquid in haeresibus, 
et in sceleratissimis quibusque sectis sacrilegum, flagitiosum, ac 
blasphemum est, quasi in sentinam quamdam, cum omnium sor- 
dium concretione confluxit. 

Haec, Venerabiles Fratres, et alia complura, et fortassis etiam 
graviora, quae in praesens percensere longum esset, ac vos probe 
nostis, in dolore esse Nos jubent, acerbo sane ac diuturno, quos 
in Cathedra Principis Apostolorum constitutos, zelus universae 
domus Dei comedat prae caeteris, opus est. Verum cum eo Nos 



* Luc. 22, 53. 



f Isaiaa 24. 5. 



APPENDIX. 



363 



loci positos esse agnoscamus, quo deplorare duntaxat innumera 
haec mala non sufficiat, nisi et ea convellere pro viribus connita- 
mur ; ad opem fidei vestrae confugimus, vestramque pro Catholici 
Gregis salute solicitudinem advocamus, Venerabiles Fratres, quo- 
rum spectata virtus ac religio et singularis prudentia et sedula ad- 
siduitas amnios Nobis addit, atque in tanta rerum asperitate afflic- 
tos consolatione sustentat perjucunda. Nostrarum quippe est 
partium, vocem tollere, omniaque conari, ne aper de silva demoli- 
atur vineam, neve lupi mactent gregem : Nostrum est, oves in ea 
' duntaxat pabula compellere, quae salutaria iisdem sint, nec vel 
tenui suspicione perniciosa. Absit, Charissimi, absit, ut quando 
tanta premant mala, tanta impendeant discrimina, suo desint rau- 
neri pastores, et perculsi metu dimittant oves, vel, abjecta cura 
gregis, otio torpeant ac desidia. Agamus idcirco in unitate spi- 
ritus communem Nostram, seu verius Dei causam, et contra com- 
munes hostes pro totius populi salute una omnium sit vigilantia, 
una contentio. 

Id porro apprime praestabitis, si, quod vestri muneris ratio pos- 
tulate attendatis vobis, et doctrines, illud assidue revolventes animo, 
universalem Ecclesiam quacumquenovitatepulsari*, atque S. Aga- 
thonis Pontificis monituf nihil de lis, qute sunt regulariter defi- 
nitely minui debere, nihil mutari, nihil adjici, sed ea et verbis, et 
sensibus illibata esse custodienda. Immota inde consistet firmitas 
unitatis, quae liac B. Petri Cathedra suo veluti fundamento conti- 
netur, ut unde in Ecclesias omnes venerandse communionis jura 
dimanant, ibi universis et murus sit, et securitas, et portus expers 
Jluctuum, et bonorum thesaurus innumerabilium%. Ad eorum 
itaque retundendam audaciam, qui vel jura Sanctae hujus Sedis 
infringere conantur, vel dirimere Ecclesiarum cum ipsa conjunc- 
tionem, qua una eaedem nituntur et vigent, maximum fidei in earn 
ac venerationis sinceras studium inculcate, inclamantes cum S. Cy- 
priano§, falso confidere se esse in Ecclesia, qui Cathedram Petri 
deserat, super quamfundata est Ecclesia. 

In hoc ideo elaborandum vobis est, assidueque vigilandum, ut 
fidei depositum custodiatur in tanta hominum impiorum conspi- 

* S. Celest. PP. Ep. 21 ad Episcop. Galliar. 

f S. Agatho PP. Ep. ad Imp. apud Labb. Tom. 11. pag. 235. Ed. M'ansi. 
% S. Innocent. PP. Ep. 11. apud Coustant. 
§ S. Cypr. de unitate Eccles. 



364 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



ratione, quam ad illud diripiendum perdendumque factam lamen- 
tamur. Meminerint omnes, judicium de sana doctrina, qua populi 
imbuendi sunt, atque Ecclesiae universae regimen et administrati- 
onem penes Romanum Poutificem esse, cui plena pascendi, 
regendi, et gubernandi universalem Ecclesiam potestas a Christo 
Domino tradita fait, uti Patres Florentini Concilii diserte deela- 
rarunt*. Est autem singulorum Episcoporum Cathedrae Petri 
fidelissime adhaerere, depositum sancte religioseque custodire, et 
pascere, qui in eis est, gregem Dei. Presbyteri vero subjecti 
sint, oportet, Episcopis, quos uti animce parentes suscipiendos ab 
ipsis esse, monet Hieronymusf : nec unquam obliviscantur, se 
vetustis etiam canonibus vetari, quidpiam in suscepto ministerio 
agere, ac docendi et concionandi munus sibi sumere sine sententia 
Episcopi, cvjusjidei populus est creditus, et a quo pro animabus ra- 
tio exigetur\. Certum denique firmumque sit, eos omnes, qui ad- 
versus praestitutum hunc ordinem aliquid moliantur, statum Eccle- 
siae, quantum in ipsis est, perturbare. 

Nefas porro esset, atque ab eo venerationis studio prorsus alie- 
num, qua Ecclesiae leges sunt excipiendae, sancitam ab ipsa disci- 
plinary qua et sacrorum procuratio, et morum norma, et jurium 
Ecclesiae Ministrorumque ejus ratio continetur vesana opinandi 
libidine improbari, vel ut certis juris naturae principiis infestam 
notari, vel mancam dici atque imperfectam, civilique auctoritati 
subjectam. 

Cum autem, ut Tridentinorum Patrum verbis utamur, constet, 
Ecclesiam eruditam fuisse a CHRISTO JESU, ejusque Apos- 
tolis, atque a Spiritu Sancto Mi omnem veritatem in dies sugge- 
rente edoceri§, absurdum plane est, ac maxime in earn injurio- 
sum, restaur at ionem ac regenerationem quamdam obtrudi, quasi 
necessariam, ut ejus incolumitati etincremento consulatur, perinde 
ac si censeri ipsa possit vei defectui, vel obscurationi, vel aliis hu- 
juscemodi incommodis obnoxia ; quo quidem molimine eo spectant 
novatores, ut recentis humance institutions jaciantur fundamenta, 
illudque ipsum eveniat, quod detestatur Cyprianus, ut, quae divina 

* Cone. Flor. Sess. 25. In definit. apud Labb. Tom. 18, col. 527, edit. 
Venet. 

f S. Hieron. Ep. 2. ad Nepot. al. 24. 

% Ex. Can. Ap. 38, apud Labb. Tom. 1. pag. 38. Edit. Mansi. 
^ Cone. Trid. Sess. 13. dec. de Eucharist, in prooem. 



APPENDIX. 



365 



res est, humana fiat Ecclesia*. Perpendant vero, qui consilia id 
genus machinantur, uni Romano Pontifici ex S. Leonis testimonio 
Canonum dispensationem esse creditam, ipsiusque duntaxat esse 
non vero privati hominis, de paternarum regulis sanctionum 
quidpiam decernere, atque ita, quemadmodum scribit S. Gelasiusf, 
deer eta Canonum librare, decessorumque prcecepta metiri, ut quee 
necessitas temporum restaurandis Ecclesiis relaxanda deposcit, 
adhibita consider atione diligenti, temperentur. 

Hie autem vestram volumus excitatam pro Religione constan- 
tiam adversus fcedissimam in Clericalem ccelibatum conjuration em, 
quam nostis effervescere in dies latius, connitentibus cum perditis- 
simis nostri sevi philosophis, nonnullis etiam ex ipso ecclesiastico 
ordine, qui personse obliti, munerisque sui, ac blanditiis abrepti 
voluptatum, eo licentise proruperunt, ut publicas etiam atque 
iteratas aliquibus in locis ausi sint adhibere Principibus postula- 
tiones ad disciplinam illam sanctissimam perfringendam. Sed piget 
de turpissimis hisce conatibus longo vos sermone distinere, ves- 
treeque potius religioni fidentes committimus, ut legem maximi 
momenti, in quam lascivientium tela undique sunt intenta, sartam 
tectam custodiri, vindicari, defendi , ex sacrorum canonum prse- 
scripto, omni ope contendatis. 

Honorabile deinde Christianorum connubium, quod Sacramen- 
tum magnum nuncupavit Paulus in Christo et Ecclesia^, com- 
munes nostras curas efflagitat, ne quid adversus ipsius sanctita- 
tem, ac de indissolubili ejusdem vinculo minus recte sentiatur, vel 
tentetur induci. Impense id jam commendarat suis ad vos litteris 
felicis recordationis Prsedecessor Noster Pius VIII adhuc tamen 
infesta eidem molimina succrescunt. Docendi itaque sunt sedulo 
Populi, matrimonium semel rite initum dirimi amplius non posse, 
nexisque connubio Deum indidisse perpetuam vitee societatem, 
nodumque necessitudinis, qui exsolvi, nisi morte, non possit, 
Memores, sacris illud rebus adnumerari, et Ecclesiee proinde sub- 
jici, prsestitutas de ipso ejusdem Ecclesise leges habeant ob oculos, 
iisque pareant sancte, accurateque, exquarum exequutione omnino 
pendet ejusdem connubii vis, robur, ac justa consociato. Caveant, 

* S. Cypr. Ep. 52. Edit. Baluz. 

f S. Gelasius, PP. in Ep. ad Episcop. Lucaniae. 

: Ad Heb. 13. 4. 



366 



COUNCIL OF TRENT, 



ne quod sacrorum canonum placitis, Conciliorumque decretis offi- 
cial;, ulla ratione admittant, probe gnari, exitus infelices ilia habi- 
tura esse conjugia, quae vel adversus Ecclesise disciplinam, vel 
non propitiato prius Deo, vel solo aestu libidinis jungantur, quin 
de sacramento, ac de mysteriis, quae illo significantur, ulla teneat 
sponsos cogitatio. 

Alteram nunc persequimur causam malorum uberrimam, quibus 
afflictari in preesens comploramus Ecclesiam, indifferentismum 
scilicet, seu pravam illam opinionem, quae improborum fraude ex 
omni parte percrebuit, qualibet fidei professione 6eternam posse 
animae salutem comparari, si mores ad recti honestique normam 
exigantur. At facili sane negotio in re perspicua, planeque evi- 
denti, errorem exitiosissimum a populis vestrae curae concreditis 
propelletis. Admonente Apostolo*, unum esse Deum, unamjidem, 
unum baptisma, extimescant, qui e religione qualibet patere ad 
portum beatudinis aditum comminiscuntur, reputentque animo ex 
ipsius Servatoris testimonio, esse se contra Christum, qui cum 
Christo non suntf, seque infeliciter dispergere, quia cum ipso non 
colligunt, ideoque absque dubio ceternum esse perituros, nisi tene- 
ant Caiholicam Jidem, eamque integram, inviolatamque servave- 
rint\. Hieronymum audiant, qui, cum in tres partes schismate 
scissa esset Ecclesia, narrat, se tenacem propositi, quando aliquis 
rapere ipsum ad se nitebatur, constanter clamitasse : Si quis Ca- 
thedra Petri jungitur meus est§. Falsa autem sibi quis blandire- 
tur, quod et ipse in aqua sit regeneratus. Opportune enim 
responderet Augustinus || : Ipsam for mam habet etiam sarmen- 
tum, quod prcEcisum est devite: sed quid Mi prodest forma, si 
non vivit de radice ? 

Atque ex hoc putidissimo indifferentismi fonte absurda ilia 
fluit ac erronea sententia, seu potius deliramentum, asseren- 
dam esse ac vindicandam cuilibet libertatem conscientice. Cui 
quidem pestilentissimo errori viam sternit plena ilia, atque immo- 
derata libertas opinionum, quae in sacrae, et civilis rei labem late 
grassatur, dictitantibus per summam impudentiam nonnullis, 
aliquid ex ea commodi in Religionem promanare. At quce pe- 



* Ad Ephes. 4. Si f Luc - n - 23 - + Symbol. 1. Athanas. 

§ S. Hier. Ep. 58. II S. Aug. in Psal. contra part. Donat. 



APPENDIX. 



367 



jor mors anima, quam libertas erroris? inquiebat Augustinus.* 
Freno quippe omni adempto, quo homines contineantur in 
semitis veritatis, proruente jam in praeceps ipsorum natura ad 
malum inclinata, vere apertum dicimus puteum abyssirf e quo 
vidit Joannes, ascendere fumum, quo obscuratus est sol, locustis 
ex eo prodeuntibus in vastitatem terrse. Inde enim animorum 
immutationes, inde adolescentium in deteriora corruptio, inde in 
populo sacrorum, rerumque, ac legum sanctissimarum contemp- 
tus, inde uno verbo pestis rei publicae prae qualibet capitalior, 
cum experientia teste vel a prima antiquitate notum sit, civitatis, 
quae opibus, imperio, gloria floruere, hoc uno malo concidisse, 
libertate immoderata opinionum, licentia concionum, rerum novan- 
darum cupiditate. 

Hue spectat deterrima ilia, ac numquam satis exsecranda et 
detestabilis libertas artis librariae ad scripta quaelibet edenda in 
vulgus, quam tanto convicio audent normulli efflagitare ac promo- 
vere. Perhorrescimus, Venerabiles Fratres, intuentes, quibus 
monstris doctrinarum, seu potius quibus errorum portentis obru- 
amur, quae longe ac late ubique disseminantur ingenti librorum 
multitudine, libellisque, et scriptis mole quidem exiguis, malitia 
tamen permagnis, e quibus maledictionem egressam illacrymamur 
super faciem terrae. Sunt tamen, proh dolor ! qui eo impuden- 
tiae abripiantur, ut asserant pugnaciter, hanc errorum colluviem 
inde prorumpentern satis cumulate compensari ex libro aliquo, 
qui in hac tanta pravitatum tempestate ad Religionem ac veri- 
tatem propugnandum edatur. — Nefas profecto est, omnique jure 
improbatum, patrari data opera malum certum ac majus, quia spes 
sit, inde boni aliquid habitum iri. Numquid venena libere spargi, 
ac publice vendi, comportarique, imo et obbibi debere, sanus quis 
dixerit, quod remedii quidpiam habeatur, quo qui utuntur, eripi 
eos ex interitu identidem contingat ? 

Verum longe alia fuit Ecclesiae disciplina in exscindenda ma- 
lorum librorum peste vel ab Apostolorum aetate, quos legimus 
grandem librorum vim publice combussisse.J Satis sit, leges in 
Concilio Lateranensi V. in earn rem datas perlegere et Consti- 
tutionem, quae deinceps a Leone X. fel. rec. Praedecessore Nos- 
tro fuit edita, ne id quod ad Jidei augmentum, ac bonarum 

S. Aug. Ep. 166. f Apocalyps. 9. 3. \ Act. Apost. 19. 



368 



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artium propagationem salubriter est inventum, in contrariwm 
convertatur, ac Christi Jidelium saluti detrimentum pariat* 
Id quidem et Tridentinis Patribus maximae curae fuit, qui reme- 
dium tanto huic malo adhibuere, edito saluberrimo decreto de 
Indice librorum, quibus impura doctrina contineretur, confici- 
endo.t Pugnandum est acriter, inquit Clemens XIII. fel. rec. 
Prsedecessor Noster in suis de noxiorum librorum proscriptione 
encyclicis litteris, J pugnandum est acriter, quantum res ipsa 
efflagitat, et pro viribus tot librorum mortifera exterminanda 
pernicies : numquam enim materia subtrahetur erroris, nisi pra- 
vitatis facinorosa elementa in Jiammis combusta depereant. 
Ex hac itaque constanti omnium aetatum solicitudine, qua semper 
Sancta haec Apostolica Sedes suspectos et noxios libros dam- 
nare, et de hominum manibus extorquere enisa est, patet luculen- 
tissime, quantopere falsa, temeraria, eidemque Apostolicae Sedi 
injuriosa, et fecunda malorum in Christiano Populo ingentium 
sit illorum doctrina, qui nedum censuram librorum veluti gravem 
nimis, et onerosam rejiciunt, sed eo etiam improbitatis progre- 
diuntur, ut earn praedicent a recti juris principiis abhorrere, 
jusque illius decernendae, habendaeque audeant Ecclesise de- 
negare. 

Cum autem circumlatis in vulgus scriptis doctrinas quasdam 
promulgari acceperimus, quibis debita erga Principes fides atque 
submissio labefactatur, facesque perduellionis ubique incendun- 
tur : cavendum maxime erit, ne populi inde decepti a recti semita 
abducantur. Animadvertant omnes, non esse, juxta Apostoli mo- 
nitum, potestatem nisi a Deo; quce autem sunt, a Deo ordi- 
nate sunt. Itaque qui resistit potestati, Dei ordinationi resistit, 
et qui resistunt, ipsi sibi damnationem acquirunt.§ Quocirca et 
divina et humana jura in eos clamant, qui turpissimis perduel- 
lionis seditionumque macbinationibus a fide in Principes de- 
scisere, ipsosque ab imperio deturbare connituntur. 

Atque hac plane ex causa, ne tanta se turpitudine fcedarent 
veteres Christiani saevientibus licet persecutionibus, optime tamen 
eos de Imperatoribus, ac de Imperii incolumitate meritos fuisse 

* Act. Cone. Lateran. V. sess. 10. ubi refertur Const. Leonis X. Le- 
genda est anterior Constitutio Alexandri VI. Inter multiplices> in qua 
multa ad rem. t Cone. Trid. Sess. 18 et 25. 

+ Lit. Clem. XIII. Christiana?, 25 Nov. 1766. § Ad Rom. 13, 2. 



APPENDIX. 



369 



constat, idque nedum fide in iis, quae sibi mandabantur Religioni 
non contraria, accurate prompteque perficiendis, sed et con- 
stantia, et effuso etiam in preeliis sanguine luculentissime com- 
probasse. Milites Christiani, ait S. Augustinus, * servierunt 
Imperatori injideli ; uhi veniebatur ad causam Christi, non 
agnoscebaiit, nisi ilium qui in ccelis ,erat. Distinguebant 
Dominum ceternum a Domino temporalis et tamen subditi 
erant propter Dominum aeternum etiam Domino temporali. 
Haec quidem sibi ob oculos proposuerat Mauritius Martyr invic- 
tus, Legionis Thebanae Primicerius, quando, uti S. Eucherius 
refert, haec respondit Imperatori : f Milites sumus, Imperator, 

tui, sed tamen servi, quod libere confitemur, Dei Et 

nunc non nos hcec ultima vita necessitas in rebellionem coegit : 
tenemus ecce arma, et non resistimus, quia mori, quam occidere 
satius volumus. Quae quidem veterum Christianorum in Prin- 
cipes fides eo etiam illustrior effulget, si perpendatur cum Ter- 
tulliano, J tunc temporis Christians non defuisse vim numerorum, 
et copiarum, si hostes eccertos agere voluissent. Esterni sumus, 
inquit ipse, et vestra omnia implevimus, Urbes, Insulas, Castella y 
Municipia, Conciliabula, Castra ipsa, Tribus, Decurias, Pala- 
tium, Senatum, Forum.... Cui bello non idouei non prompti 
fuissemus, etiam impares copiis, qui tarn libenter trucidamur, 
si non apud istam disciplinam magis occidi liceret, quam oc- 
cidere ? Si tanta vis hominum in aliquem Orbis remoti 

sinum abrupissemus a vobis, suffudisset utique pudore Domi- 
nationem vestram tot qualiumcumque amissio civium, immo 
et ipsa destitutione punisset. Procul dubio expavissetis ad 

solitudinem vestram , qucesissetis, quibus imperaretis ; 

plures hostes, quam cives vobis remansissent : nunc autem pau- 
ciores hostes habetis prce multitudine Christianorum. 

Praeclara haec immobilis subjectionis in Principes exempla, 
quae ex sanctissimis Christianee Religionis praeceptis necessario 
proficiscebantur, detestandam illorum insolentiam, et improbi- 
tatem condemnant, qui projecta, effrenataque procacis iibertatis 
cupiditate aestuantes, toti in eo sunt, ut jura quaeque Principatuum 

* S. Aug. in Psal. 124, n. 7. 

f S. Eucher. apud Ruinart. Act. SS. MM. de SS. Maurit. et Soc. n. 4. 
{ Tertul. in Apologet. Cap. 37- 

2 B 



370 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



labefactent, atque convellant, servitutem sub libertatis specie popu- 
lis illaturi. Hue sane scelestissima deliramenta, consiliaque con- 
spirarunt Waldensiura, Beguardorum, Wiclefistarum, aliorumque 
hujusmodi filiorum Belial, qui humani generis sordes, ae dede- 
cora fuere, merito idcirco ab Apostolica hac Sede toties anathe- 
mate confixi. Nec alia profecto ex causa oranes vires intendunt 
veteratores isti, nisi ut cum Luthero ovantes gratulari sibi pos- 
sint, liberos se esse ab omnibus: quod ut facilius celeriusque 
assequantur, flagitiosiora quaelibet audacissime aggrediuntur. 

Neque laetiora et Religioni, et Principatui ominari possemus 
ex eorum votis, qui Ecclesiam a Regno separari, mutuamque 
Imperii cum Sacerdotio concordiam abrumpi discupiunt. Con- 
stat quippe, pertimesci ab impudentissimae libertatis amatoribus 
concordiam illam, quae semper rei et sacrae et civili fausta extitit 
ac salutaris. 

At ad ceteras acerbissimas causas, quibus soliciti sumus, et in 
communi discrimine dolore quodam praecipuo angimur, accessere 
consociationes quaedam, statique ccetus, quibus, quasi agmine 
facto cum cujuscumque etiam falsae religionis ac cultus sectatori- 
bus, simulata quidem in religionem pietate, vere tamen novitatis, 
seditionumque ubique promovendarum cupidine, libertas omnis 
generis praedicatur, perturbationes in sacram et civilem rem 
exscitantur, sanctior quaelibet auctoritas discerpitur. 

Haec perdolenti sane animo, fidentes tamen in Eo, qui imperat 
ventis et facit tranquillitatem, scribimus ad vos, Venerabiles 
Fratres, ut induti scutum fidei contendatis praeliari strenue praelia 
Domini. Ad vos potissimum pertinet, stare pro muro contra 
omnem altitudinem extollentem se adversus scientiam Dei. 
Exerite gladium spiritus, quod est verbum Dei, habeantque a vo- 
bis pan em, qui esuriunt justitiam. Adsciti, ut sitis cultores navi 
in vinea Domini, id unum agite, in hoc simul laborate, ut radix 
quaelibet amaritudinis ex agro vobis commisso evellatur, omnique 
enecato semine vitiorum convalescat ibi seges laeta virtutum. 
Eos in primis affectu paterno complexi, qui ad sacras praesertim 
disciplinas, et ad philosophicas questiones animum appulere, hor- 
tatores, auctoresque iisdem sitis, ne solius ingenii sui viribus freti 
imprudenter a veritatis semita in viam abeant impiorum. Me- 
minerint, Deum esse sapientice ducem emendatoremque sapien- 



APPENDIX. 



371 



Hum,* ac fieri non posse, ut sine Deo Deum discamus, qui per 
Verbum docet homines scire Deum.t Superbi, seu potius insi- 
pientis hominis est, fidei mysteria, quae exsuperant omnem sen- 
sum, humanis examinare ponderibus, nostraeque mentis rationi 
confidere, quae naturae humanae conditione debilis est, et infirma. 

Ceterum communibus hisce votis pro rei et sacrse, et publicae 
incolumitate, Carissimi in Christo Filii Nostri Viri Principes sua 
faveant ope, et auctoritate, quam sibi collatam considerent non 
solum ad mundi regimen, sed maxime ad Ecclesiae praesidium. 
Animadvertant sedulo, pro illorum imperio et quiete geri, quidquid 
pro Ecclesiee salute laboratur ; imo pluris sibi suadeant fidei cau- 
sam esse debere, quam Regni, magnumque sibi esse perpendant, 
dicimus cum S. Leone Pontifice, si ipsorum diademati de manu 
Domini etiam fidei addatur corona. Positi quasi parentes, et 
tutores populorum, veram, constantem, opulentam iis quietem 
parient, et tranquillitatem, si in earn potissimum curam incum- 
bant, ut incolumis sit Religio et pietas in Deum, qui habet scrip- 
turn in femore ; Rex Regum, et Dominus dorninantium, 

Sed ut omnia haec prospere ac feliciter eveniant, levemus ocu- 
los manusque ad Sanctissimam Virginem MARIAM, quae sola 
universas haereses interemit, Nostraque maxima fiducia, imo tota 
ratio est spei Nostree.t Suo ipsa patrocinio in tanta Dominici 
gregis necessitate studiis, consiliis, actionibusque Nostris exitus 
secundissimos imploret. Id et ab Apostolorum Principe PETRO, 
et ab ejus Coapostolo PAULO humili prece efflagitemus ; ut 
stetis omnes pro muro, ne fundamentum aliud ponatur praeter id 
quod positum est. Hac jucunda spe freti, confidimus, Auctorem et 
Consummatorem fidei JESUM CHRISTUM consolaturum tan- 
dem fore Nos omnes in tribulationibus, quae invenerunt Nos ni- 
mis, coelestisque auxilii auspicem, Apostolicam Benedictionem, 
vobis, Venerabiles Fratres, et ovibus vestrae curae traditis pera- 
manter impertimur. 

Datum Romae apud S. Mariam Majorem XVIII. Kalendas 
Septembris die sollemni Assumptionis ejusdem B. V. MARINE 
Anno Dominicae Incarnationis MDCCCXXXII. Pontificatus 
Nostri Anno II. 

It is not my intention, which would be superfluous after having 

* Sap. 7. 15. t S. Irenaeus, Lib. 14. [sic] Cap. 10. 

+ Ex. S. Bernardo Serm. de Nat. B. M. V. $. 7- 

2 b 2 



372 



COUNCIL OF TRENT. 



referred to the Dublin republication, to offer any comment on this 
document. Yet it can never be observed too often, in reference 
to the degrading idolatry which marks the conclusion — and, be it 
remembered, it is the deliberate and public profession of idolatry 
by the head of the Church — that an act of devotion, although 
passing on to, and terminating upon, the true God, may yet be 
real and substantial idolatry, and such as is most pointedly and 
solemnly forbidden in the divine law. It is important to attend to 
this distinction, because, under favour of a vague and artful defi- 
nition, merging this distinction, Romanists uniformly leave meshes 
in the net large enough for their own escape-— but large enough 
also for the escape of the great body of idolaters from the begin- 
ning of the world. The offensive paragraph is indeed for substance 
found in a constitution so early as of Boniface IX, 1390, Superni 
benignitas. And it has the expression respecting the Virgin Mary, 
quee sola universas hcereses inter emit, which I make a point of 
noticing the more, because the omission of his present holiness 
has been kindly, if not officiously, supplied by some Hibernian 
friend, and subject, (I presume,) as the correction first appears in 
the Dublin edition. In the original no authority is produced for 
the clause ; but in the reprint the reference is made — S. Aug. 
This, to be sure, is a very satisfactory reference, and may alone 
destroy all doubt. We have only to look for a single line through 
eleven folios, and may at last find it in a spurious work, scouted 
even by ingenuous critics of the Roman Church, as is often the 
case. There are two or three other corrections in references to 
scripture. But the whole epistle is a treasure — although of iniquity. 

I just add from an edition of the Canons, &c, Salmanticae, 
1571, because it is omitted in Le Plat's, (although transferred to 
several modern ones,) a list, which throws some light upon na- 
tional proportion in the council. 

Numerus Prselatorum cujuscunque nationis qui ad ascumenicam Triden- 
tinam Synodum convenere. 

Prcelati. — Itali . .187 per procuratores . . 2 



Galli . 
German! 



26 per procuratores 
2 per procuratores 
31 per procuratores 



4 
4 
3 
2 



Hispani 

Lusitani 

Grseci 

Poloni 

Vngari 

Angli 



3 Hiberni 

6 Flandri 

2 Croati 

2 Moravi 

1 lllirici 



3 



INDEX. 



1 Abridgment of Christian Doctrine,'' dishonest alteration of, 156, 157, 
note f . 

Absolution of the Church of England, falsely asserted to be the same with 

that of the Church of Rome, 157 note. *, and 158 note. 
Adrian VI., Pope, efforts of, at reformation of papal abuses, frustrated, 4. 

His instructions to his legate on this subject, 6. 
Advice addressed by some cardinals to Paul IV., abstract of, 11 — 13. Its 

genuineness, 13, 14. 
Ambassadors of France and Spain, dispute between, for precedence, 269, 270, 

280, 281. 
Augsburg, notice of the diet at, 165. 
Auto de Ft at Valladolid, account of, 334—340. 

Basil (Council of), notice of, 3. 

Beza (Theodore), calumnies of, by Romanists, 263, 264, and notes. 
Bishops, debates in the Council of Trent concerning the jurisdiction of, 

249 — '253. Final adjustment of them, 256. 
Bologna, circumstances which led to the removal of the Council of Trent to, 

118 — 120. Celebration of the first session there, 123, 124. Proceedings 

of the second session, 130 — 136. The council removed from Bologna to 

Trent, 137, 138. 

Books, foim of a papal license for reading, 185 note. Discussion in the 

Council of Trent concerning the Index of prohibited books, 180 — 183. 

List of persons employed in preparing it, 185. Debate upon the decree 

concerning them, 187 — 189. 
Breviary (Roman), reformation of, entrusted to the Pope, 321. 
Bula Cruzada granted to the King of Spain by Leo XII., observations on, 

344, 345. Translation of it, 346—358. 

Cabrieres, notice of the massacre of Protestants at, 22. 

Canonical Scripture, disputes in the Council of Trent concerning, 50 — 60. 
Decree concerning them, 60. And the editions and interpretation thereof, 
60, 61. 

Cardinals, a congregation of, appointed to superintend the Council of Trent, 
30, note. 

Cases reserved to the pope, account of, 326 — 332. 

Caterino, Bishop of Minori, arguments of, against the necessity of the priest's 

intention, to constitute a sacrament, 110, 111. 
Cava (Bishop of), dispute with the bishop of Chiron, and his punishment, 

83. 

Centum Gravamina, or hundred grievances, presented to the Diet of Nu- 
remberg, notice of the editions of, 5. Outline of them, 6 — 8. Proofs of 
the genuineness of this instrument, 8, 9. 

Certainty of grace, decision of the Tridentine Council upon, 89. 

Charles V., observations of the papal legates on the conduct of, with refer- 
ence to the Council of Trent, 20 — 22. Presses their consideration of 
reformation, 79. Concludes a league with the pope against the Protes- 
tants in Germany, ibid. Account of the Interim issued by him, 134, 135. 
Convenes a diet at Augsburg, 165. His retirement from the throne, 166. 

Chioggia (Naclantus. bishop of), objections of, to the Romish dogma respect- 



374 



INDEX. 



ing traditions, 55, 60. And to the Tridentine decree concerning them, 
61. Ridiculed for his poverty, 59. 

Colloquy at Ratisbon, in 1546, account of, 68, 69, 325, 326. 

Communion in one kind, debates in the Twenty-first Session concerning, 210, 1 
211 — 213. Urged by the emperor in behalf of the Germans, 231. Heal- 
ing expedient proposed, 232. Debates on this subject, 232, 233. The 
affair referred to the pope, 234. 

Confession, immoral tendency of Romish instructions for, 156, 157. 

Constance (Council of), 3. 

Councils : see Basil, Constance, Florence, Mantua, Pisa, Trent. 

Cramp's (J. M.) ' Text-Book of Popery,' commendation of, 156. 

Cup, debates on the giving of, to the laity, 210—213, 231—234. 

Cyprian's works, remarks on the falsification of, in Paulo Manutio's edition 

of, 277- 

Dispute between the bishops of Chiron and Cava, at the Council of Trent, 
83. Between the Cardinals of Trent and of Jaen about the suspending of 
the council, 84, 85. 

Donovans translation of the Tridentine Catechism, wilful omission in, 151, 

note. 

Elizabeth, Queen of England, proceedings in the Council of Trent respect- 
ing, 268. Remarks on her treatment of the Romanists, ibid. 269. 

Encyclical Letter of Pope Gregory XVI., copy of, 360—371. Remarks on 
it, 372. 

Eucharist, sentiments of Protestants concerning, denounced in the Council of 

Trent, 112, 113. Its decree and canons concerning, 145, 146. 
Excommunication, different degrees of, 313, note f. 

Extreme Unction, tenets of Protestants concerning, condemned by the Coun- 
cil at Bologna, 125. Opinions of the Tridentine theologians on it, 153, 
154. 

Farnese (Alessandro), abstract of letters to, from the papal legates, detailing 
the preliminary measures of the Council of Trent, 18 — 32. 

Ferdinand (the emperor), consultation of, in the reformation of the Roman 
Breviary and Missal, 321. 

Ferrier (ambassador of France), memorable address of, to the Council of 
Trent, 247, 248. 

Florence (council of), notice of, 4. 

France, observations on the fortunes of the reformation in, 340 — 344. 
French Ambassadors, speech of, at the Twentieth Session of the Council of 
Trent, 206. Answer returned to them, 208. 

Garden of the Soul, a Popish Manual of Devotion, remarks on, 333. 

Geddes (Dr. Alexander), on the variations between the Sixtine and Clemen- 
tine editions of the Latin Bible, 67, 68, note f . 

— — On the character of the Romish prelates at the Coun- 
cil of Trent, 322. 

Granada (archbishop of), objection of, to the decree of Pius IV., relative 
to the Seventeenth Session of the Council of Trent, 177, 178. And to the 
Index of prohibited books proposed in the Eighteenth Session, 187, 188. 
Doubts of concerning the interpretation of John vi., 220. On the com- 
mencement of the Apostolic commission, 229. Insists upon the divine 
right of episcopacy, 245. 

Gregory XVI. (Pope), Dedication of this work to him, iii. Copy of the En- 
cyclical Letter of, 360 — 371. Observation on it, 372. 

Grimani, Patriarch of Aquileia, remarks on the case of, 282. 

Guise (Duke of), remarks on the assassination of, 263, 264, and notes. 



INDEX. 



375 



Henry II., King of France, dispute between, and Pope Julius III., 141. 

His objection to the Council of Trent, 142. Severe decree against the 

Protestants, 142. His death, 166. 
Henry (Stuart), Cardinal Duke of York, notice of cases reserved to, 333. 
Heretics, liberal offer of the Council of Trent to, 188. 

Idolatry and image-worship of the Romish Church remarks on, 318, 319. 

Immaculate Virgin, remarks on the application of the title of to the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, 76, 77- 

Index of prohibited books, discussions concerning in the Eighteenth Session 
of the Tridentine Council, 180 — 183. List of fathers appointed to com- 
pose it, 185. Debates upon the decree concerning it, 187 — 189. Sketch 
of it, 192. Ignorance of Romanists in England respecting the indexes 
of their church, 193, note. The ultimate formation and publication of it 
left to the pope, 322. Remarks on it, ib. 321. 

Indulgences, remarks on the decree of the Tridentine Council concerning, 
316, 317, and 318, 319, notes. On what days plenary indulgences may be 
gained in Spain, 357, 358. 

Inquisition in Spain and at Rome, care of the council in watching over the 
interests of, 189, 190. 

Intention of the priest, discussions concerning the necessity of, to constitute 
a sacrament, 110, 111. 

Interim issued by Charles V., account of, 134, 135. 

James's (Dr.) ' Bellum Papale,' notice of, 67- 

Jenkyns (Rev. Henry) edition of Canmer's Remains, notice of, 10, note. 

Julius III., Pope, election of, 136, 137 Translates the council from Bologna 
to Trent, 137, 138. Resumption of the council under him, 139. Advice 
of, to his legate, 154. Letter of to Crescentio, and his own views of re- 
formation, 162. Reflexions of Vargas on the dilemma to which he was 
reduced, 163, note. His death, 165. 

Justification, discussion of, at the colloquy at Ratisbon, 68, 69 ; 325, 326. 
Questions concerning submitted to the congregation of theologians, 80, 81. 
Discussions thereon, 81, 82. Decree concerning this doctrine proposed to 
the council, 93, 94, 95. Further discussions on it, 97- Proposal of the em- 
peror for deferring the publication of it, 99. Publication of a draft of the 
decree with annotations, ib. note. Embarrassment of the Romish church 
on this question, 100, 101. Further proceedings, 102, 103. Final decree 
of the council concerning justification, 104, 105. Objection of the Pro- 
testants to it, 106. Reflexions upon this important doctrine, 107- 

Legates (papal), arrival of at Trent, 18. Request an indulgence for the in- 
habitants, 19, 21. Causes of their delay in proceeding with the council, 
20. Their representations of the conduct of the Emperor Charles V., 20, 
22. Their dilemma as to the opening of the council, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 
29. And concerning the admission of proxies to vote, 25, 26. Their 
opinion concerning the incompatibility of the imperial diet and the coun- 
cil, 29. Their account of the preliminaries to the opening of the council, 
30 — 32. Reflexion thereon, 33. The council opened by them in the First 
Session, 34, 35. Plan of operations proposed by them in the Second 
Session, 36 — 41. Disputes concerning the order of proceeding, and the 
language in which proceedings were to be conducted, 42 — 44, 46, 47- 
Their juggling about reformation, 44, 45. Account of the discussions 
about the scriptures, 49 — 60. Further dilemmas of, in the Fifth Session, 
concerning reformation, 62, 63. And original sin, 7L Their perplexity, 
89. They urge a translation of the council, ib. 90. Artful reply of, to the 
application of the Protestants for a safe conduct, 184. Speech of, in re- 
ply to the French ambassadors, 209. Bibliographical notice of letters 



376 



INDEX. 



written by the legates to the Romish see, Pre/, x. — xii. xiv. Debate on 
the words proponentibus legatis, 292, 293 ; 295, 296. 
Leo XII. (Pope), translation of the Bula Cruzada granted by to the king of 
Spain, 346—358. 

Lessons of the commissioners for the education of the poor in Ireland, stric- 
tures on, 229 note. 

Lorraine (Cardinal of), address of to the Council of Trent, 246, 247- In- 
gratiates himself with the Roman see, 281. His favourable reception at 
Rome, 295. Its effects on the council, 295. His return to Trent, and 
speech to the council, 300. 

Luther, origin of the reformation under, 1, 2. Was the seminal cause of the 
Council of Trent, 2. Progress of the reformation under him, 4 — 7. 
Calumnious statements of Romanists concerning him, 58, 59, note §. Ad- 
mitted the institution of episcopacy to be of divine right, 243. 

Lutherans consent to the Council of Trent on certain conditions, 127- 

Madruccio (Cardinal), speech of, on the prohibitory index of the Romish 

church, 187- 
Mantua, council of convened, 10. 

— Cardinal of, address to the persons convened at the Seventeenth 

Session of the Tridentine council, 176. Wishes to resign his office of 
legate, 218, 219. Conciliatory letter of the pope to him, 219. His death, 
263. 

Marcellus II. (Pope), notice of, 165. 

Mariani's (M.A.), description of the city of Trent, notice of, 17 note. On 
the plate in his work, representing the council in session, Pre/, xxix. xxx. 

Mass, articles proposed to the Council of Trent concerning, 225, 226. De- 
bates thereon, 226 — 229. Determination of the council on it, 230. De- 
cree and canons relative to it, 238. On the abuses of the Mass, 235. 

Massacre of Protestants at Merindol and Cabrieres, 22. 

Massarelli (Angelo), Summarium sacri Concilii Tridentini, notice of, ix. x. 

Matrimony, tenets of Protestants concerning, condemned by the council at 
Bologna, 125. Proposed canons on, 280. Decree of the Twenty-fourth 
Session concerning, 300. 

Milledoni (Antonio), notice of his { Historia del sacro concilio di Trento,' 
Pre/, ix. 

Missal, reformation of committed to the pope, 321. 

Morone, Cardinal, appointed legate to the Council of Trent, 255. His address 
to it, 266. Especially on passing the decrees of reformation in the Twenty- 
fourth Session, 299, 300. 

Nuremberg (diet of), Papal legate sent to, 4. Account of the Centum Gra- 
vamina presented by the German princes assembled at it, 5. Outline of 
them, 6—8. 

Order, sacrament of, tenets of Protestants concerning, condemned by the 
council at Bologna, 125. Articles concerning it proposed for consideration 
at the Council of Trent, 242. Discussions on this subject, 243, 244, 245. 
The seventh canon respecting order, 248. Remarks on it, 248, 249. De- 
bates in the council, 249 — 253. Dilemma of the legates, 253. Negotiations 
with the French cardinal of Lorraine, 254. Final adjustment of the 
question, 256. Discussions concerning the abuses of order, 270 — 272. 

Original Sin, discussion of the theological congregation at Trent concerning, 
72, 73, 74. Decree of the Tridentine Council concerning it, 75, 76. Their 
dilemma concerning the blessed Virgin Mary, 76, 77- 

Paleotto, (Gabriel, cardinal,) account of his ' Acta Concilii Tridentini,' Pre/. 



INDEX. 



377 



xni., and 171—173. His description of the ceremonies attending the 

opening of the council, 177j 178. 
Pallavicino's History of the Council of Trent, remarks on, Pref. v. vi. 

Sources of his history, vi. note. Letter of Pallavicino to Giambattista 

Rinalducci, xvi. note. 
Papacy, schisms in, a cause of the Reformation, 4, 5. 

Paul III. (Pope), convenes the council of Mantua, 10. Outlines of the ad- 
vice presented to him by a select body of cardinals, 11, 12—14. Pro- 
rogues that council, and convenes one at Vicenza, 14. And afterwards at 
Trent, 15. 17. Makes a league with the emperor against the Protestants 
of Germany, 79. His death, 136. 

Paul IV. (Pope), election and character of, 165. Condemns the advice 
which, as a cardinal, he had given to Paul III., 13. First proceedings of 
his pontificate, 165, 166. Rejoicings at his death, 166. 

Penance, disputes concerning at the Council of Trent, 152, 153. Its decree 
concerning, 155. Remarks on the Romish doctrine of penance, 156. 

Perefs (P. J. L. de) 4 Eclaircissemens Historiques,' notice of, 343 note. 

Piemont, victory of the Christians of, over their Popish persecutors, 170, 
171. 

Pisa (council of), notice of, 2, 3. 

Pius IV. elected pope, 167. Resumes the Council of Trent, ib. Invective 
against his bull of resumption, ib. and note. Refusals of various Pro- 
testant princes to attend the council, and on what grounds, 168. Abstract 
of his breve relating to the Eighteenth Session, 179, 180. Authority of 
his creed in the Romish church, Pref. xxiii. xxiv. 

Poggiano (Giulio), his calumnies of Beza, 263. 264, note. Letter of the 
legates preserved by him, 318 note. 

Pope, styled ' our Lord,' by the legates at the Council of Trent, 34. Account 
of the cases specially reserved to him, 326 — 332. 

Preaching, decree of the Fifth Session concerning, 77. 

Protestants, league of the pope and emperor against, 79. Their further pro- 
ceedings against them, 82, 83. Objections of Protestants against the decree 
concerning justification, 106, 107. Massacre of Protestants at Merindol 
and Cabrieres, 22. On what conditions the Lutheran Protestants consented 
to the Council of Trent, 127. They demand a safe-conduct of the council, 
141 . 143. Evasions of the pope, 143. Ambassadors of some Protestant 
states attend the Fifteenth Session, and demand a safe-conduct, 159, 160. 
Account of the safe-conduct accorded to them, 161. Observations of 
Vargas on it, 161, 162. Refusal of several Protestant princes to attend 
the council under Pius IV., 168. Discussions in the Eighteenth Session 
concerning the safe-conduct to be granted them, 183. Wily expressions 
of the legate concerning, 184. Debates in the Nineteenth Session re- 
specting their safe-conduct, 194, 195. Decree issued for it, 196. Reasons 
why they could not trust themselves at the council, 207, 208. 

Purgatory, on what days a soul may be liberated from, in Spain, 358. 

Quaestors, decree of the Fifth Session concerning, 77, 78. Abolition of 
their office, 222. Remarks on it, 223. 

Real Presence, canon of the council at Bologna concerning, 126. 

Reformation (Protestant), causes of — schism in the papacy, 4, 5. Abuses in 
the Roman church, 6 — 8. Its origin, under Luther, 1, 2. And progress, 
9. Council at Mantua summoned to consider on reformation, 10. 

Reformation of papal abuses, disputes in the Council of Trent concerning, 
44, 45. Attempt of the legates there to tranquillize the pope's mind on 
this subject, 48, 49. Decree of the Fifth Session concerning reformation, 
77, 78. Decree of the Sixth Session, 105, 106. Objections to it, 107. 
Decree of the Seventh Session, 117- Of the Thirteenth Session, 146, 

2c 



378 



INDEX. 



147- Of the Fourteenth Session, 155. Debates concerning it in the 
Nineteenth Session, 196—199. Manoeuvres of the legates, 200. Debates 
on in the Twenty-first Session, 215. Decree of the Twenty- second Ses- 
sion, 239. Proceedings in the Twenty-third Session, 259 — 269. And in 
the Twenty-fourth Session, 283, 284, 285—288. Fresh articles of refor- 
mation tendered, and renewed discussions concerning them, 289 — 294. 
Decrees of the Twenty-fourth Session on it, 301, 302. And of the Twenty- 
fifth Session, 315—321. 
Representing clause, debate on, 187-189. 

Reserved Cases, account of, 326 — 332. Remarks thereon, 332, 333. 

Residence of bishops and clergy, angry debates on in the Nineteenth Ses- 
sion, 198 — 202. Proposed decree on this subject, 204. Apprehensions of 
the pope and cardinals, 205. Further debates on, in the Twenty-first 
Session, 216. 217- And in the Twenty-third Session, 259 — 262. 

Rinalducci , s (Giambattista) Transcript of Sarpi's History of the Council of 
Trent in Italian, corrected by Pallavicino's History, account of, Pre/, xv. 
xvi. Copy of Pallavicino's letter to him, xvi. note. 

Sacrament, disputes concerning the necessity of the priest's intention to 

constitute, 110, 111. Decree of the Council of Trent concerning their 

number and efficacy, 114, 115. 
Sacrifice of the Mass, articles concerning, proposed to the Council of Trent, 

225, 226. Discussions concerning, 226, 227 — 229. Discussion of the 

council, 230. 

Safe-conduct demanded by the protestants of the Tridentine Council, 141, 
143. Papal evasions concerning it, 143. Renewed demand of one, in 
the Fifteenth Session, 159, 160. Account of that accorded to them, 161. 
Discussions in the Eighteenth Session, concerning the safe-conduct to be 
granted to them, 183. Crafty expression of the papal legates concerning 
it, 184. Debates in the Nineteenth Session relative to it, 194, 195. 
Sketch of the decree for it, 196. 

Sarpvs (Paolo) History of the Council of Trent, notice of, Pre/, v. vi. And 
of Rinalducci's transcript of it, corrected by Pallavicino, xv. xvi. 

Schisms in the papacy, a cause of the reformation, 2, 3. 

Scripture, discussions concerning, 50 — 58. And the propriety of allowing 
translations, 58. Tradition equalled with scripture, 60. Objections to 
this decision, 61. The old Latin Vulgate Version declared only to be 
authentic, 60. Decree of the Fifth Session concerning the reading of 
them, 77- 

Segovia (bishop of), protest of, on the sacrifice of the mass, 239- 
Seripando (cardinal), death of, 264, 265. * 
Servantio (Jo. Astolfo), notice of his ' Diario del Concilio di Trento,' Pre/, xiii. 
Simonetta, speech of, concerning reform in the papal church, 196. Discus- 
sion concerning it, ibid., 197- 
Smedtey's (Rev. Edward), 1 History of the Reformed Religion in France,' 

notice of, 1 69, note. 
Sorti deW Epi/ania, conjectures on the nature of, 50, 51, note. 

Tradition of the Romish church declared to be equal to Scripture, 60. Ob- 
jections to this decision, 61. 

Transubstantiation, decree and canons of the Council of Trent concerning, 
145, 146. Observations on this tenet of the Romish church, 148 — 152. 

Trent (city), notice of Mariani's Description of, 17, note. Pre/, xxix. 

Trent (Council of ) : — 

1. Bibliographical Account of Manuscript Authorities relative to the 
first assembly of this council ; viz. of the Diario del Concilio, dal Ambas- 
ciatore Veneto, Pref. viii. ix. Of the Historia del Concilio da Antonio 
Milledoni, ix. Of Angelo Massarelli's Summarium Sacri Concilii Tridentini 



INDEX. 



379 



Bononiensis, ix. x. Various collections of Letters -written by the papal le- 
gates x. — xii. Notice of historical sources for the second assembly, xii. 
Notice of Manuscript Authorities relative to the final assembly of this 
Council, xiii. The Diario of Jo. Astolfo Servantio, xiii. Of Cardinal 
Gabriel Paleotto's Acta Concilii Tridentini, xiii. Of Letters written by the 
legates and by Visconti, xiv. Of some Miscellaneous Letters and Docu- 
ments, xiv. xv. Of Rinalducci's Italian History of the Council, xv. xvi. 
Of the Declarations Concilii Tridentini, xv. 
2. Proceedings of the Council of Trent : — The remote and seminal cause of 
it, 2. Convened by Paul III., 15. Facies Concilii tempore Sessionis, 
Pref. xxiv. Account of the Engraving representing the Council in Session, 
xxix. xxx. Notice of the legates appointed to be present there, 17, 18. 
Abstracts of their letters to Alessandro Farnese, detailing the measures 
preliminary to the actual sitting of the council, 18 — 32. Reflexions thereon, 
33. A congregation of cardinals appointed to superintend it, 32. Opening 
of the Council, 34. Proceedings of the First Session, ibid. 35, 36. Mode of 
living, &c. in the council, and proceedings of the Second Session, 36—41. 
Of the Third Session, 41—47- Of tbe Fourth Session, 48—61. Of the 
Fifth Session, 62—78. Of the Sixth Session, 79—108. Of the Seventh 
Session, 108—118. Of the Eighth Session, 118—120. Removal of the 
council to Bologna, where the Ninth and Tenth Sessions were held, 120 
— 139. Eleventh Session ; Resumption of the Council at Trent, under 
Julius III., 139, 140. Proceedings of the Twelfth Session — Prorogation 
of the Session, 141, 142. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Session, 143 — 152. 
Of the Fourteenth Session, 152 — 157. Of the Fifteenth Session, 158—162. 
Of the Sixteenth Session, 162 — 171. Of the Seventeenth Session, 171 — 
179. Of the Eighteenth Session, 179 — 193. Of the Nineteenth Session, 
194—204. Of the Twentieth Session, 204—210. Of the Twenty-first 
Session, 211—224. Of the Twenty-second Session, 224—241. Of the 
Twenty-third Session, 241 — 279. Of the Twenty-fourth Session, 279 — 
305. Of the Twenty-fifth Session, 305 — 321. Number of persons pre- 
sent at it, 315 — Remarks on their characters, 322 and note, 323. Con- 
firmation of this council, 313 — 359. Observations on the importance of 
its proceedings, Pref. xviii. — xxiii. 

Valladolid, account of the Auto de Fe at, 334 — 340. 

Vargas (Franscisco), genuineness of the letters of, 144, 145, notes. His 
account of the rulers of the Council of Trent, 145. Of the proceedings 
of the Thirteenth Session, 147, 148. Of the Fourteenth Session, 153. 
His observations on the safe- conduct granted to the protestants, 161, 
162. 

Vergerio , s Invective against the Council of Trent, notice of, 167 and note. 
Versions of Scripture, dispute in the Council of Trent concerning, 57, 58. 

The Latin Vulgate version decreed to be the only authentic one, 60, 

Disputes concerning the correction of it, 65, 66. Discrepancies between 

the Sixtine and Clementine editions, 67 and note f • 
Vicenza, a council convened at, 14. But removed to Trent, 15. 
Visconti, papal nuntio at the Council of Trent, instructions to, on being 

sent ambassador to the King of Spain, 297? 298, 299. Notice of his 

Letters to the Roman See, Pref. xiv. 



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